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THE  GOLDEN  CANON 


BV 

G.  A.  HENTY 

AUTHOR  OF  "TRUE  TO  THE  OLD  FLAG,"   "WITH  LKB 

IN   VIRGINIA,"    "WITH   WOUFE   IK 

CANADA,"  ETC. 


NEW  YOKK : 

THE  F.  M.  LUPTON  PUBLISHING  COMPANY, 


PA     _ 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER 


rJiGB 


THE  GOLDEN  CANON. 

I.    A  Run  Ashore, ' 

II.    Dick's  Escape, " 

III,  The  Gold-Seekers, i9 

IV.  More  Plans, 28 

V.    The  Search  for  the  CaSon,    .       •        .      35 

VI.    The  Map  Again 4^ 

VII.    The  Scarcity  of  Water,  ...      49 

VIII.    The  Golden  Valley 55 

IX.    The  Tree  on  the  Peak,    ....      62 

X.    Watched, .68 

XI.    Hard  at  Work,          .  •      .       •       .       .76 
XII.    Retreat 84 

XIII.  The  Redskin, 90 

XIV.  In  the  Ravine,            .       .       .       •       .97 
XV.    Rifle-Shots, *04 

XVI.    On  the  Return, "a 

XVII.    Conclusion, 118 

m 


464500 


iv 


CONTENTS. 


CNAPTSR  rAGB 

THE  STONE  CHEST, 
I,    A  Mystery  of  the  Storm,        .        .        .125 

n.    Off  for  Zaruth 134 

in.    Among  the  Icebergs,  .        .        .        .143 

IV.    The  Escape  from  the  Icebergs,       .        .     148 

V,    The  Arctic  Island 153 

VI.    The  Madman,        .       .        .       .  .161 

VII,    A  Fearful  Fall, 172 

VIII.    A  Remarkable  Story,        .       .        .        .178 

IX.    The  Volcano  of  Ice,  ....     184 

X.    The  Escape  of  the  "  Dart,"     .        .        .     189 

XI.     Among  a  Strange  Foe,       ....     195 

XII.     Bob's  Discovery, 200 

XIII.  The  Big  Polar  Bear,  ....     205 

XIV.  The  Finding  of  the  Stone  Chest,    .        .     210 
XV.    Bob  Re-scues  His  Father— Conclusion,    .    318 


PUBLISHERS'  INTRODUCTION. 

George  Alfred  Henty  has  been  called 
"  The  Prince  of  Story-Tellers."  To  call  him 
"  The  Boy's  Own  Historian  "  would  perhaps  be 
a  more  appropriate  title,  for  time  has  proved 
that  he  is  more  than  a  story-teller;  he  is  a  pre- 
server and  propagator  of  history  amongst 
boys. 

How  Mr.  Henty  has  risen  to  be  worthy  of 
these  enviable  titles  is  a  story  which  will 
doubtless  possess  some  amount  of  interest  for 
all  his  readers. 

Henty  may  be  said  to  have  begun  his  pre- 
liminary training  for  his  life-work  when  a  boy 
attending  school  at  Westminster.  Even  then 
the  germ  of  his  story-telling  propensity  seems 
to  have  evinced  itself,  for  he  was  always 
awarded  the  highest  marks  in  English  com* 
position. 

From  Westminster  he  went  to  Cambridge, 


vi  publishers'  introduction. 

where  he  was  enrolled  as  a  student  at  Caius 
College.  It  is  a  decided  change  of  scenery 
and  circumstances  from  Cambridge  to  the 
Crimea,  but  such  was  the  change  which  took 
place  in  Mr.  Henty's  career  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one. 

An  appointment  in  connection  with  the 
commissariat  department  of  the  British  army, 
took  him  from  the  scenes  of  student  life  into 
the  excitement  of  the  Muscovite  war. 

Previous  to  this,  however,  he  had  written 
his  first  novel,  which  he  has  characterized  as 
"  Very  bad,  no  doubt,  and  was,  of  course, 
never  published,  but  the  plot  was  certainly  a 
good  one." 

Whilst  engaged  with  his  duties  at  the 
Crimea  he  sent  home  several  descriptive  let- 
ters of  the  places,  people,  and  circumstances 
passing  under  his  notice.  His  father,  think- 
ing some  of  those  letters  were  of  more  than 
private  interest,  took  a  selection  of  them  to 
the  editor  of  the  Morning  Advertiser,  who, 
after  perusal  of  them,  was  so  well  pleased  with 
their   contents   that   he   at    once   appointed 


publishers'  introduction.  vii 

young  Henty  as  war  correspondent  to  the 
paper  in  the  Crimea. 

The  ability  with  which  he  discharged  his 
duties  in  the  commissariat  department  at  that 
time  soon  found  for  him  another  sphere  of 
similar  work  in  connection  with  the  hospital 
of  the  Italian  forces.  After  a  short  time  this 
was  relinquished  for  engagement  in  mining 
work,  which  he  first  entered  into  at  Wales, 
and  then  in  Italy. 

Ten  years  after  his  Crimean  correspond- 
ence to  the  Morning  Advertiser  he  again  took 
to  writing,  and  at  this  time  obtained  the  posi- 
tion of  special  correspondent  to  the  Standard. 
While  holding  this  post,  he  contributed  let- 
ters and  articles  on  the  wars  in  Italy  and 
Abyssinia,  and  on  the  expedition  to  Khiva. 
Two  novels  came  from  his  pen  during  this 
time,  but  his  attention  was  mostly  devoted  to 
miscellaneous  letters  and  articles. 

It  is  a  specially  interesting  incident  in  the 
career  of  Mr.  Henty  how  he  came  to  turn  his 
attention  to  writing  for  boys.  When  at 
home,  after  dinner,  it  was  his  habit  to  spend 


Vlll  rUBLISlIERS    INTRODUCTION. 

an  hour  or  so  with  his  children  in  telHng  them 
stories,  and  generally  amusing  them.  A 
story  begun  one  day  would  be  so  framed  as 
"  to  be  continued  in  the  next,"  and  so  the 
same  story  would  run  on  for  a  few  days,  each 
day's  portion  forming  a  sort  of  chapter,  until 
the  whole  was  completed.  Some  of  the 
stories  continued  for  weeks.  Mr.  Henty,  see- 
ing the  fascination  and  interest  which  these 
stories  had  for  his  own  children,  bethought 
himself  that  others  might  receive  from  them 
the  same  delight  and  interest  if  they  were  put 
into  book  form.  He  at  once  acted  upon  the 
suggestion  and  wrote  out  a  chapter  of  his 
story  for  each  day,  and  instead  of  telling  it  to 
his  children  in  an  extempore  fashion,  read 
what  he  had  written.  When  the  story  was 
completed,  the  various  chapters  were  placed 
together  and  dispatched  to  a  publisher,  who 
at  once  accepted  and  published  it.  It  was 
in  this  way  the  long  series  of  historical  stories 
which  has  come  from  his  powerful  pen  was 
inaugurated,  and  G.  A.  Henty  was  awarded 
the  title  of  "  The  Prince  of  Story-Tellers." 


publishers'  introduction.  ix 

There  is  in  this  incident  a  glimpse  of  the 
character  of  our  author  which  endears  him  to 
us  all.  The  story  of  his  kindly  interest  in  his 
own  children  surely  creates  a  liking  for  him 
in  the  hearts  of  the  children  of  others.  The 
man  who  can  spend  an  hour  in  telling  stories 
to  his  little  ones,  and  retain  their  attention 
and  interest,  has  an  eviden«t  sympathy  with, 
and  power  over,  the  youthful  nature.  Time 
has  proved  such  is  the  case  with  G.  A.  Henty, 
for  up  to  the  present  he  has  written  close  on 
fifty  stories  for  boys,  which  have  been  received 
with  unbounded  joy  and  satisfaction  by  all. 

As  an  indication  of  the  reception  which  his 
books  have  met  with,  the  following  may  be 
quoted  from  an  English  paper: 

"  G.  A.  Henty,  the  English  writer  of  juve- 
niles, is  the  most  popular  writer  in  England 
to-day  in  point  of  sales.  Over  1 50,000  copies 
of  his  books  are  sold  in  a  year,  and  in  America 
he  sells  from  25,000  to  50,000  during  a  year." 
"  All  the  world  "  is  the  sphere  from  which 
Mr.  Henty  draws  his  pictures  and  characters 
for  the  pleasure  of  the  young.     Almost  every 


X  PUBLISHERS     INTRODUCTION. 

country  in  the  world  has  been  studied  to  do 
service  in  this  wav,  with  the  result  that  within 
the  ser!;:' of  books  which  Mr.  Henty  has  pro- 
duced for  the  young  we  find  such  places  dealt 
with  as  Carthage,  Egypt,  Jerusalem,  Scot- 
land, Spain,  England,  Afghanistan,  Ashanti, 
Ireland,  France,  India,  Gibraltar,  Waterloo, 
Alexandria,  Venice,  Mexico,  Canada,  Vir- 
ginia, and  California.  Doubtless  what  other 
countries  remain  untouched  as  yet  are  but  so 
many  fields  to  be  attacked,  and  which  every 
lad  hopes  to  see  conquered  in  the  same  mas- 
terly way  in  which  the  previous  ones  have 
been  handled. 

As  a  rule  much  of  what  boys  learn  at  school 
is  left  behind  them  w^hen  classes  are  given  up 
for  the  sterner  w^ork  of  the  world.  Unless 
there  is  a  special  demand  for  a  certain  subject, 
that  subject  is  apt  to  become  a  thing  of  the 
past,  both  in  theory  and  practice.  This,  how- 
ever, is  not  likely  to  be  the  case  with  history, 
so  long  as  G.  A.  Henty  writes  books  for  boys, 
and  boys  read  them.  History  is  his  especial 
forte,  and  that  he  is  able  to  invest  the  dry  facts 


PUBLISHERS'   INTRODUCTION.  Xl 

of  history  with  life,  and  make  them  attractive 
to  the  modern  schoolboy,  says  not  a  hlttle  for 
his  power  as  a  story-teller  for  boys.     It  is 
questionable  if  history  lias  any  better  means 
of  fixing  itself  in  the  minds  of  youthful  readers 
than  as  it  is  read  in  the  pages  of  G.  A.  Henty's 
works.     There  is  about  it  an  attraction  which 
cannot  be  resisted;  a  most  unusual  circum- 
stance in  connection  with  such  a  subject.     All 
this  of  course  means  for  Mr.  Henty  a  vast 
amount  of  research  and  study  to  substantiate 
his  facts  and  make  his  situations,  characters, 
places,  and  points  of  time  authentic.     To  the 
reader  it  means  a  benefit  which  is  incalculable, 
not  only  as  a  means  of  passing  a  pleasant 
hour,  but  in  reviving  or  imparting  a  general 
knowledge  of  the  history  and  geography,  the 
manners  and  customs  of  our  own  and  other 

lands.  / 

There  is  a  noticeable  element  of  "  Free- 
dom" which  runs  through  Mr.  Henty's 
books,  and  in  this  may  be  said  to  lie  their  in- 
fluence. From  them  lads  get  an  elevating 
sense  of  independence,  and  a  stimulus  to  pa- 


xii  PUMl  ISIIIKS'    INTKOhUr  TION. 

triotic  and  manly  endeavor.  Tlis  pages 
provide  the  purest  form  of  intellectual  excite- 
ment which  it  is  possible  to  put  into  the  hands 
of  lads.  Thev  are  always  vigorous  and 
liealthy.  and  a  power  for  the  strenj^thening  of 
N    the  moral  as  well  as  the  intellectual  life. 

In  the  present  work,  *'  The  Golden  Canon," 
a  tale  of  the  gold  mines,  Mr.  Ilenty  lias  fully 
sustained  his  reputation,  and  we  feci  certain 
all  boys  will  read  the  book  with  keen  interest. 


THE  GOLDEN  CaSJoK. 


CHAPTER  I. 

A    P.VZr    ASHORE. 

In   '.'^;   ".■•::':.   ^.i  AjjfUEt.    1856,  the  barfe 

D:^'-':.  Ir:  \'..:~/:  ':  ::.o  l^vnmg  spread  ever 
her  aeck  the  heat  was  almost  tmbearable. 
Not  a  breath  of  wind  was  stirring  in  the  ^.■z.r.i- 
locked  harbor,  and  the  bare  and  arid  c  :-r 
round  the  town  afforded  no  relief  to  the  eye. 
The  town  itself  looked  mean  and  poverty- 
stricken,  for  it  was  of  comparatively  modern 
growth,  and  contained  but  a  few  buildings  of 
importance.  Long-  low  warehouses  fringed 
the  shore,  for  here  carr.e  for  shipping  vast 
quantities  of  hides;  a,5  San  Diego,  which  is 
situated  within  a  few  miles  of  the  frontier  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Mexico,  is  the 
sole  sheltered  port  available  for  shipping  be- 


3  THE   GOLDEN  CA5fON. 

tvveen  San  Francisco  and  the  mouth  of  the 
Gulf  of  California.  Two  or  three  other  ships 
which  were,  like  the  Northampton,  engaged  in 
shipping  hides,  lay  near  her.  A  sickening 
odor  rose  from  the  half-cured  skins  as  they 
were  swung  up  from  boats  alongside  and  low- 
ered into  the  hold,  and  in  spite  of  the  sharp 
orders  of  the  mates,  the  crew  worked  slowly 
and  listlessly. 

"  This  is  awful,  Tom,"  a  lad  of  about  six- 
teen, in  the  uniform  of  a  midshipman,  said  to 
another  of  about  the  same  age  as,  after  the 
last  boat  had  left  the  ship's  sides,  they  leaned 
against  the  bulwarks;  "  what  with  the  heat, 
and  what  with  the  stench,  and  what  with  the 
captain  and  the  first  mate,  life  is  not  worth  liv- 
ing. However,  only  another  two  or  three 
days  and  we  shall  be  full  up,  and  once  off  we 
shall  get  rid  of  a  good  deal  of  the  heat  and 
most  of  the  smell." 

"  Yes,  we  shall  be  better  off  in  those  re- 
spects, Dick,  but  unfortunately  we  shan't 
leave  the  captain  and  mate  behind." 

"  No,  I  don't  know  which  I  like  worst  of 


A  RUN  ASHORE.  3 

them.  It  is  a  contrast  to  our  last  ship,  Tom. 
What  a  good  time  we  had  of  it  on  board  the 
Zebra!  The  captain  was  a  brick,  and  the 
mates  were  all  good  fellows.  In  fact,  we  have 
always  been  fortunate  since  the  day  we  first 
came  on  board  together  up  to  now.  I  can't 
think  how  the  owners  ever  appointed  Collet 
to  the  command;  he  is  not  one  of  their  own 
officers.  But  when  Halford  was  taken  sud- 
denly ill  I  suppose  they  had  no  others  at  home 
to  put  in  his  place,  so  had  to  go  outside.  My 
father  said  that  Mr.  Thompson  had  told  him 
that  they  heard  that  he  was  a  capital  sailor, 
and  I  have  no  doubt  he  is.  He  certainly 
handled  her  splendidly  in  that  big  storm  we 
had  rounding  the  Cape.  I  suppose  they  did 
not  inquire  much  farther,  as  we  took  no  pas- 
sengers out  to  San  Francisco,  and  were  com- 
ing out  to  pick  up  a  cargo  of  hides  here  for 
the  return  journey;  but  he  is  a  tyrant  on 
board,  and  when  I  get  back  I  will  tell  my 
father,  and  he  will  let  Thompson  know  the 
sort  of  fellow  Collet  is.  It  doesn't  do  one  any 
good  making  complaints  of  a  captain,  but  my 


4  THE   GOLDEN   CA5fON. 

father  is  such  friends  with  Thompson  that  I 
know  he  will  tell  the  other  partners  that  he 
hears  that  Collet  isn't  the  sort  of  man  they 
care  about  having  commanding  their  ships, 
without  my  name  coming  into  it.  If  he  does 
I  can't  help  it.  I  know  Tliompson  will  see 
that  I  don't  sail  with  Collet  again,  anyhow, 
and  will  get  you  with  me,  as  he  has  often  met 
you  at  my  father's,  and  knows  what  chums  we 
are.  Collet  brought  Williams  with  him,  and 
they  were  a  nice  pair.  I  believe  the  second 
and  third  are  just  as  disgusted  as  we  are,  and 
as  Allen  is  a  nephew  of  one  of  the  partners  he 
will  put  a  spoke  in  their  wheel  too,  when  he 
comes  back." 

"  Well,  we  might  be  worse  off  in  some  re- 
spects, Dick.  We  have  two  good  ofificers  out 
of  the  four,  and  we  have  a  very  fair  crew,  and 
we  have  good  grub;  and  the  company  always 
victual  their  ships  well,  and  don't  put  the  offi- 
cers' messing  into  the  hands  of  the  captain,  as 
they  do  in  some  ships." 

Presently  Mr.  Allen,  the  second  officer, 
came  up  with  the  two  lads. 


? 


A  RUN  ASHORE.  5 

"  I  am  going  ashore  in  an  hour,  Preston," 
he  said  to  Dick;  "  if  you  like,  you  can  come 

with  me." 

"Thank   you,   sir;   I   should   like   it   very 

much." 

"  I  wish  you  were  coming  too,  Tom,"  he 

went    on    when    the    officer    moved    away. 

"  That  is  one  of  the  nuisances.  Collet  never 

letting  us  go  ashore  together." 

"  It  is  a  nuisance,"  the  other  said,  heartily. 

"  Of  course,  Allen  is  a  very  good  fellow,  but 
one  can't  have  any  larks  as  one  could  have  if 

we  Vv^ere  together." 

,^  "  Well,  there  are  not  m.any  larks  to  be  had 
^:^ere,  at  any  rate,  Tom.  It  is  about  the 
dullest  place  I  ever  landed  at.  It  is  a  regular 
Mexican  town,  and  except  that  they  do  have, 
I  suppose,  sometimes,  dances  and  that  sort  of 
thing,  there  is  really  nothing  to  be  done  when 
one  does  go  ashore,  and  the  whole  place 
stinks  of  hides.  Even  if  one  could  get  away 
for  a  day  there  is  no  temptation  to  ride  about 
that  desert-looking  country,  with  the  sun 
burning  down  on  one;  no  one  but  a  salaman- 


6  THE   GOLDEN   CA^fON. 

der  could  stand  it.  They  are  about  the 
roughest-looking  lot  I  ever  saw  in  the  town. 
Everyone  has  got  something  to  do  with  hides 
one  way  or  the  other.  They  have  either 
come  in  with  them  from  the  country,  or  they 
pack  them  in  the  warehouses,  or  they  ship 
them.  That  and  mining  seem  the  only  two 
things  going  on,  and  the  miners,  with  their 
red  shirts  and  pistols  and  knives,  look  even  a 
rougher  lot  than  the  others.  I  took  my  pistol 
when  last  I  went  ashore;  I  will  lend  it  you  this 
evening." 

*'  Oh,  I  don't  want  a  pistol,  Tom;  there  is 
no  chance  of  my  getting  into  a  row." 

"  Oh,  it  is  just  as  well  to  carry  one,  Dick, 
when  you  know  that  everyone  else  has  got 
one  about  him  somewhere,  and  a  considerable 
number  of  them  are  drunk;  it  is  just  as  well  to 
take  one.  You  know,  it  is  small,  and  goes  in 
my  breast  pocket." 

"  I  will  take  my  stick,  the  one  I  bought  at 
San  Francisco;  it  has  got  an  ounce  of  lead  in 
the  knob.  I  would  rather  have  that  than  a 
pistol  any  day." 


A  RUN  ASHORE.  7 

However,  as  Dick  was  standing  with  the 
second  officer  at  the  top  of  the  gangway,  Tom 
Haldane,  as  he  passed  by,  slipped  the  pistol 
into  his  hand  and  then  walked  on.  Dick 
thrust  it  into  his  pocket,  and  then  descended 
the  ladder.     It  was  almost  dark  now. 

"  I  have  two  or  three  places  to  go  to,  Pres- 
ton, and  do  not  know  how  long  I  shall  be  de- 
tained. It  is  just  nine  o'clock  now.  Sup- 
pose you  meet  me  here  at  the  boat  at  half-past 
ten.  It  will  be  pleasanter  for  you  to  stroll 
about  by  yourself  than  to  be  waiting  about 
outside  houses  for  me." 

"  Very  well,  sir.  I  don't  think  there  is 
much  to  see  in  the  town,  but  I  will  take  a  bit 
of  a  stroll  outside.  It  is  cool  and  pleasant 
after  the  heat  of  the  day." 

They  walked  together  to  the  first  house 
that  Mr.  Allen  had  to  visit;  then  Dick  strolled 
on  by  himself.  The  place  abounded  with 
wine-shops.  Through  the  open  doors  the 
sound  of  the  strumming  of  mandolins, 
snatches  of  Spanish  song,  and  occasionally 
Yoices  raised  in  dispute  or  anger,  came  out. 


8  THE   GOLDEN   CANON. 

Dick  felt  no  inclination  to  enter  any  of  them. 
Had  his  chum  been  with  him  he  might  have 
looked  in  for  a  few  minutes  for  the  fun  of  the 
thing,  but  alone  he  would  be  the  object  of  re- 
mark, and  might  perhaps  get  involved  in  a 
quarrel.  Besides  the  freshness  of  the  air  was 
so  pleasant  that  he  felt  disposed  for  a  walk, 
for  the  moon  was  shining  brightly,  the  stars 
seemed  to  hang  from  the  skies,  and  after  hav- 
ing been  pent  up  in  the  ship  for  the  last  four 
days  it  was  pleasant  to  stretch  the  limbs  in  a 
brisk  walk.  In  ten  minutes  he  was  outside 
the  town,  and  followed  the  road  for  half  an 
hour. 

"  It  is  a  comfort,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  to 
have  got  rid  of  the  smell  of  hides.  If  ever 
cholera  comes  this  way  I  should  think  it 
would  make  a  clean  sweep  of  San  Diego." 

Turning,  he  walked  leisurely  back;  he  en- 
tered the  town,  and  had  gone  but  a  hundred 
yards  or  two  when  he  heard  a  shout,  followed 
by  a  pistol  shot,  and  then,  in  English,  a  cry 
for  help. 

He  dashed  down  the  street  toward  a  group 


A  RUN  ASHORE.  9 

of  people  who,  he  could  see  in  the  moonlight, 
were  engaged  in  a  sharp  struggle.  One  man 
was  defending  himself  against  four,  and  the 
oaths  and  exclamations  of  these  showed  that 
they  were  Mexicans.  Just  as  he  reached 
them  the  man  they  were  attacking  was  struck 
down,  and  two  of  his  assailants  threw  them- 
selves upon  him. 

Dick  rushed  upon  the  men,  and  felled  one 
with  a  sweeping  blow  of  his  stick.  The  other 
man  who  was  standing  up  sprang  at  him, 
knife  in  hand,  with  a  savage  oath. 

So  quick  was  the  action  that  he  was  upon 
Dick  before  he  had  time  to  strike  a  blow  with 
his  stick.  He  threw  up  his  left  arm  to  guard 
his  head,  but  received  a  severe  gash  on  the 
shoulders.  At  the  same  moment  he  struck 
out  with  his  right,  ftdl  into  the  face  of  the 
Mexican,  who,  as  he  staggered  back,  fell 
across  the  three  men  on  the  ground.  Dick 
seized  the  opportunity  to  draw  his  pistol, 
dropping  his  stick  as  he  did  so,  as  his  left  arm 
was  disabled.  It  was  a  double-barreled  pistol 
and  as  the  three  natives  rose  and  rushed  at 


lO  THE   GOLDEN   CA5J0N. 

him,  he  shot  the  first.  The  other  two  sprang 
at  him  and  he  received  a  blow  that  almost 
paralyzed  him.  He  staggered  against  the 
wall,  but  had  strength  to  raise  his  arm  and  fire 
again,  just  as  the  man  was  about  to  repeat  his 
blow;  he  fell  forward  on  his  face,  and  his  other 
assailant  took  to  his  heels.  A  moment  later 
Dick  himself  sai:k  to  the  ground. 


CHAPTER  II. 

dick's  escape. 

When  Dick  opened  his  eyes  it  was  broad 
daylight.  He  was  lying  in  a  barely  furnished 
room.  A  surgeon  was  leaning  over  him  ban- 
daging his  wounds,  while  on  the  other  side  of 
the  bed  stood  three  red-shirted  men,  whose 
rough  beards  and  belts  with  bowie  knives  and 
pistols  showed  them  to  be  miners.  One  of 
them  had  his  face  strapped  up  and  his  arm  in 
a  sling.  An  exclamation  of  satisfaction  burst 
from  him  as  Dick's  eyes  opened. 

"That  is  right,  lad.  You  will  do  now, 
"  It  has  been  touch  and  go  with  you  all  night. 
My  life  aint  no  pertik'lar  value  to  nobody, 
but  such  as  it  is  you  have  saved  it.  But  I 
won't  talk  of  that  now.  Which  ship  do  you 
belong  to?     We  will  let  them  know  at  once." 

"The  Northampton,''  Dick  said  in  a  whisper. 


IX 


12  THE   GOLDEN   CANON. 

"  All  ri^ht;  don't  you  talk  any  more.  We 
will  get  your  friends  here  in  no  time." 

But  when  ]\Ir.  Allen  came  ashore  Dick  was 
again  unconscious.  The  mate  fetched  two 
more  surgeons,  who,  after  conferring  with  the 
first,  v.cre  all  of  opinion  that  although  he 
might  possibly  recover  from  his  wounds, 
weeks  would  elapse  before  he  would  be  con- 
valescent. Before  night  fever  had  set  in,  and 
it  v.as  a  fortnight  before  he  was  again  con- 
scious of  what  was  passing  round  him.  He 
looked  feebly  round  the  room.  One  of  the 
red-shirted  men  was  attending  to  a  pot  over 
a  charcoal  fire.  Turning  his  head  he  saw, 
standing  looking  out  of  the  window,  his  friend 
Tom  Haldane. 

"  Halloa,  Tom,"  he  said,  in  a  whisper, 
which,  however,  reached  the  midshipman's 
ears.  He  turned  sharply  round,  and  hurried 
to  the  bedside. 

"  Thank  God,  Dick,  you  are  conscious 
again.  Don't  try  to  talk,  old  fellow;  drink 
this  lemonade,  and  then  shut  your  eyes 
again." 


dick's  escape.  13 

Dick  tried  to  raise  his  hand  to  take  the 
glass,  but,  to  his  surprise,  found  he  was  un- 
able to  do  so.  Tom,  however,  put  it  to  his 
lips  and  poured  it  down  his  throat.  It  was 
cool  and  pleasant,  and  with  a  sigh  of  relief  he 
again  closed  his  eyes,  and  went  off  into  a  quiet 
sleep. 

When  he  awoke  it  was  evening;  the  win- 
dow was  open,  and  the  fresh  air  came  in,  mak- 
ing the  lamp  on  the  table  flicker. 

"  How  do  you  feel  now,  old  man?  "  Tom 
asked. 

"  I  feel  all  right,"  he  said,  "  but  I  am  won- 
derfully weak.  I  suppose  I  must  have  lost  a 
lot  of  blood.  Has  the  skipper  given  you 
leave  to  stop  with  me  for  the  night?  " 

Tom  nodded.  "  I  will  tell  you  all  about  it 
in  the  morning,  Dick.  There  is  some  chicken 
broth  Dave  has  been  cooking  for  you.  You 
must  try  and  drink  a  bowl  of  it,  and  then  by 
to-morrow  morning  you  will  be  feeling  like  a 
giant." 

Dick  laughed  feebly.  "  It  will  be  some 
time  before  there  is  much  of  a  giant  about  me, 


14  THE  GOLDEN   CANON. 

Tom;  but   I   feel  as  if  I  could  drink  some 
broth." 

The  next  morning  Dick  woke  feeling  de- 
cidedly stronger.  "  Raise  me  up  and  put 
some  pillows  behind  me,  Tom,  It  is  horrid 
being  fed  from  a  spoon,  lying  on  one's 
back." 

The  man  called  Dave,  and  Tom,  lifted  him 
up  as  he  wished,  and  then  the  latter  fed  him 
with  the  broth,  in  which  some  bread  had  been 
crumbled. 

"  Now,  then,"  Dick  said,  when  he  had  fin- 
ished; "  let  us  hear  what  the  old  man  said.  I 
suppose  he  was  in  a  tremendous  rage?  " 

"That  he  was!  a  brute!" 

"  Why,  there  is  my  chest.  What  has  he 
sent  that  ashore  for?  I  should  think  I  could 
be  taken  on  board  again  to-day." 

"  You  won't  be  taken  on  board  the  North- 
ampton," Tom  said,  "  for  by  this  time  she  is 
down  somewhere  near  Cape  Horn." 

"Eh!"    Dick    eclaimed    in    astonishment. 

Why,  how  long  have  I  been  here?  " 

"  A  fortnight  to-day,  Dick." 


ti 


dick's  escape.  1 5 

Dick  was  too  surprised  to  make  any  remark 
for  soPxie  time. 

"  But  if  the  Northampton  has  gone,  how  is 
it  that  you  are  here,  Tom?  " 

"  Simply  because  she  has  gone  without  me, 
Dick.  The  old  man  was  in  a  furious  rage 
when  he  heard  in  the  morning  what  had  hap- 
pened to  you.  Of  course,  we  were  in  a  great 
stew — I  mean  the  third  mate  and  myself — 
when  Allen  came  off  at  twelve  o'clock  without 
you,  after  waiting  an  hour  and  a  half  at  the 
wharf  for  you  to  turn  up.  We  all  felt  sure 
that  something  must  have  happened,  or  you 
would  never  have  been  all  that  time  late. 
There  was  a  row  between  Allen  and  the  skip- 
per the  first  thing  in  the  morning.  Allen 
wanted  to  go  ashore  to  make  inquiries  about 
you,  and  the  old  man  would  not  let  him,  and 
said  that  no  doubt  you  had  deserted,  but  that 
if  you  came  on  board  again  he  would  have 
you  put  in  irons. 

"  Well,  there  was  a  regular  row  going  on 
when  a  boat  came  off  with  a  man  in  a  red 
shirt,  who  I  know  now  is  one  of  Dave's  part- 


l6  THE   GOLDEN  Ca55oN. 

ners,  and  said  that  you  were  desperately 
wounded,  and  that  the  Spanish  doctor  they 
had  called  in  thought  that  you  would  die.  So 
then  the  old  man  couldn't  help  Allen's  going 
ashore.  Of  course,  he  could  do  nothing,  as 
you  were  insensible,  but  he  got  two  other  sur- 
geons. Their  opinion  was  that  you  would 
not  get  over  it,  but  that  if  yoii  did  it  would  be 
a  long  time  first.  When  Allen  got  back  there 
was  another  row.  He  wanted  to  have  you 
brought  on  board.  The  captain  said  that  as 
you  had  chosen  to  mix  yourself  up  in  a  row 
on  shore,  you  might  die  on  shore  for  anything 
he  cared.  Then  I  asked  for  leave  to  stay  with 
you  when  the  vessel  sailed,  and  got  sworn  at 
for  my  pains.  In  the  afternoon  I  filled  up 
your  chest  chockfull  with  as  many  of  my 
things  as  I  could  get  into  it,  and  sent  it  ashore. 
By  the  next  night  we  had  got  all  the  cargo«on 
board,  and  were  to  sail  by  the  next  morning, 
and  I  lowered  myself  down  and  swam  ashore. 
"  Allen  had' told  me  exactly  where  you  were 
lying,  so  I  came  here  at  once  and  told  Dave 
who  I  was,  and  why  I  had  come  ashore,  and 


dick's  escape.  17 

as  soon  as  it  was  light  he  took  me  round  to 
the  room  the  other  two  had.  The  captain 
came  ashore  in  the  morning  and  stormed  and 
raved  at  the  Consul's,  but  he  had  better  have 
kept  on  board.  I  told  our  friends  here  ail 
about  it,  and  as  he  went  back  to  the  boat 
again  one  of  them  pitched  into  him,  and  gave 
him  such  a  tremendous  licking  that  I  hear  he 
had  to  be  carried  on  board.  As  soon  as  he 
got  on  board  the  Northampton  sailed,  so  you 
see  here  we  both  are.  I  have  written  ofif  to 
your  father  and  mine,  giving  them  a  full  ac- 
count of  the  whole  afifair,  and  saying  what  a 
brute  Collet  had  been  on  the  whole  voyage. 
They  will  be  sure  to  lay  the  letters  before  the 
firm,  and  as  Allen  and  Smith  will,  when  they 
are  questioned,  speak  out  pretty  straight,  you 
may  be  sure  the  old  man  and  his  friend,  the 
first  mate,  will  have  to  look  for  a  berth  some- 
where else." 

"  It  is  awfully  good  of  you  to  have  come 
ashore  to  nurse  me,  Tom." 

"  Bosh !  Why,  I  have  got  away  from  the 
Northampton.     I  found,  too,  that  as  far  as 


iS  TTrR  nOLDEN  ca5?on. 

nursing  was  concerned  I  might  as  well  have 
stayed  on  board,  for  Dave  here  and  his  two 
mates  have,  one  or  other  of  them,  been  vvith 
you  night  and  day,  and  they  could  not  have 
taken  more  care  of  you  if  they  had  been 
women.  Still  I  have  been  very  glad  to  be 
here,  though  till  three  days  ago  there  seemed 
very  little  hope  of  your  pulling  through  it. 
Now  you  have  talked  enough,  or  rather,  I 
have  talked  enough,  Dick;  and  you  had  better 
turn  over  and  get  another  sleep." 


/^O  * 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE   GOLD-SEEKERS. 

Two  days  later  the  lad  was  able  to  sit  up  in 
bed  and  to  enter  upon  a  discussion  as  to  the 
future  with  Tom  and  the  miner.  It  was  be- 
^un  by  the  latter. 

"  I  suppose  you  will  be  taking  the  first  ship 
back  as  soon  as  you  are  strong  enough?  "  he 
said. 

"  I  don't  know,  Dave;  now  I  am  here  I 
should  certainly  like  a  run  ashore  for  a  few 
weeks  and  to  see  something  of  the  country. 
We  have  got  twenty  pounds  between  us;  that 
will  last  for  some  time.  I  should  think  we 
could  get  a  passage  back  without  having  to 
pay  on  this  side  for  it,  and  if  there  was  any 
difficulty  about  it,  we  could  work  our  way 
back;  but  Tom  agrees  with  me,  we  should  like 
to  see  something  of  the  country  first. 

I  suppose  in  another  fortnight  I  shall  be 

19 


<( 


20  THE   GOLDEN   CA570N. 

all  right  again;  but  there  is  the  doctor  to  pay. 
I  don't  know  what  their  charges  are  here,  but 
I  expect  his  bill  will  be  a  pretty  long  one. 
You  had  better  tell  him  to-day  that  we  have 
not  got  a  great  deal  of  cash  between  us,  and 
that  as  I  only  want  building  up  now,  he  need 
not  come  again." 

"  Don't  you  trouble  yourself  about  that," 
Dave  growled.  "  You  don't  suppose  that 
when  you  have  got  yourself  cut  and  sliced 
about  in  helping  me  you  are  going  to  have 
any  trouble  about  doctors?  We  have  got  a 
tidy  lot  at  present  amongst  us,  and  what  is 
ours  is  yourn.  We  were  going  to  set  off 
among  the  hills  a  day  or  two  after  the  time 
we  had  that  trouble;  only,  of  course,  that 
stopped  it  all." 

"  Please  don't  stop  on  my  account,"  Dick 
said.  "  I  shall  get  on  very  well  now,  and  I 
was  saying  to  Tom,  as  soon  as  I  can  get  about 
we  will  go  off  somewhere  among  the  hills;  for 
one  might  just  as  well  be  lying  in  an  oven  as 
here.  If  you  will  tell  us  where  you  and  your 
mates  are  working,  we  might  find  our  way 


THE  GOLD-SEEKERS.  21 

there,  and  get  a  job.  We  are  both  pretty 
strong,  you  know — that  is  to  say,  when  we 
are  well — and  we  have  often  said  that  we 
should  like  to  try  our  luck  gold-mining." 

"  We  aint  agoing  till  you  are  strong 
enough  to  get  about,"  Dave  said;  "  so  it  is  no 
use  saying  any  more  about  that.  Then,  if 
you  want  to  do  some  mining,  we  will  put  you 
in  the  way  of  it;  but  we  are  going  on  a  long 
expedition,  which  may  last  months,  and  from 
which,  as  like  as  not,  we  shall  never  come 
back  again.  However,  we  can  easy  enough 
take  you  with  us  for  a  bit  and  drop  you  at  one 
of  the  mining  camps,  and  stop  there  with  you 
till  you  get  accustomed  to  it,  or  work  for  a 
few  months  with  you  if  you  like.  Time  is  not 
of  much  consequence  to  us." 

"  That  is  awfully  good  of  you,  Dave,"  Tom 
said,  "  but  as  you  have  lost  more  than  a  fort- 
night at  present,  and  I  suppose  it  will  be  an- 
other fortnight  before  Dick  is  strong  enough 
to  travel,  it  isn't  fair  on  you;  and  perhaps  you 
might  be  able  to  introduce  us  to  some  men 
going  up  to  the  hills — that  is,  if  you  think  that 


22  THE   GOLDEN   CANON. 

we  could  not  go  with  you  on  this  expedition 
you  talk  of." 

"  That  won't  be  a  job  for  young  hands," 
Dave  said.  "  It  will  be  a  mighty  long  jour- 
ney over  a  terrible  rough  country,  where  one's 
life  will  be  always  in  one's  hands,  where  one's 
eyes  will  always  be  on  the  lookout  for  an 
enemy,  and  one  will  know  that  any  moment, 
night  or  day,  one  may  hear  the  war  yell  of  the 
Indians.  We  are  going  into  the  heart  of  Ari- 
zona, to  places  where  not  half-a-dozen  white 
men,  even  counting  Mexicans  as  white  men, 
have  ever  set  foot;  at  least,  where  not  half-a 
dozen  have  ever  come  back  alive  from, 
though  maybe  there  are  hundreds  who  have 
tried." 

"  Then  I  suppose  you  are  going  to  look  for 
some  very  rich  mine,  Dave?  " 

"That  is  so;  I  will  tell  you  how  it  came 
about,  and  queerly  enough,  it  wur  pretty  well 
the  same  way  as  your  friend  and  me  came  to- 
gether. My  mates  and  me  were  coming 
down  from  the  hills  when  we  heard  a  shot 
fired  in  a  wood  ahead  of  us.     It  wasn't  none 


THE   GOLD-SEEKERS.  2$ 

of  our  business,  but  we  went  on  at  a  trot, 
thinking  as  how  some  white  men  had  been  at- 
tacked by  greasers." 

"  What  are  greasers?  "  Tom  asked. 

Dave  laughed. 

"  A  greaser  is  just  a  Mexican.  Why  tney 
call  them  so  I  don't  know;  but  that  has  been 
their  name  always  as  long  as  I  came  in  the 
country.  Well,  we  ran  down  and  came  sud- 
den upon  two  greasers  who  were  kneeling  by 
a  man  lying  in  the  road,  and  seemed  to  be 
searching  his  pockets.  We  let  fly  with  our 
Colts;  one  of  them  was  knocked  over,  and  the 
other  bolted.  Then  we  went  to  look  at  the 
man  in  the  road;  he  wur  a  greaser  too.  He 
had  been  shot  dead.  '  I  w^onder  what  they 
shot  him  for?  '  says  I.  '  Maybe  it  is  a  private 
quarrel;  maybe  he  had  struck  it  rich,  and  has 
got  a  lot  of  gold  in  his  belt.  We  may  as  well 
look ;  it  is  no  use  leaving  it  for  that  skunk  that 
bolted  to  come  back  for.'  He  had  got  about 
twenty  ounces  in  his  belt,  and  we  shifted  it 
into  our  bag,  and  were  just  going  on  when 
'Zekel — that  is  one  of  my  mates — said,  *  I 


24  THE  GOLDEN  CAKON. 

know  this  cuss,  Dave;  it's  ihe  chap  that  Hved 
in  that  village  close  to  where  we  were  work- 
ing- six  months  ago;  they  said  he  had  been 
fossicking  all  over  Arizona,  and  that  he  was 
the  only  one  who  ever  came  back  out  of  a 
party  who  went  to  locate  a  wonderful  rich 
spot  it  was  said  he  knew  of. 

"  '  He  tried  over  and  over  again  to  get  up 
another  party,  but  no  one  would  try  after  that 
first  failure.  We  may  just  as  well  search  him 
all  over;  it  may  be  he  has  got  a  plan  of  the 
place  somewhere  about  him,  and  it  is  like 
enough  those  fellows  have  killed  him  on  the 
chance  of  finding  it.' 

"  So  we  searched  him  pretty  thorough,  and 
at  last  we  found  a  paper  sewn  up  in  the  collar 
of  his  jacket.  Sure  enough  it  was  a  plan. 
We  did  not  examine  it  then,  for  someone 
might  have  come  along,  and  we  might  have 
been  accused  of  the  chap's  murder;  so  I 
shoved  it  into  the  inside  pocket  of  my  shirt, 
and  we  went  on.  We  looked  at  it  that  night; 
there  was  several  marks  on  it  and  names,  one 
of  which  we  had  heard  of,  though  we  had 


THE   GOLD-SEEKERS.  2$ 

never  been  so  far  in  the  Indian  country. 
Well,  as  you  may  guess,  we  had  some  big 
talks  over  it,  and  at  last  we  reckoned  we 
would  have  a  try  to  find  it. 

"  We  had  been  lucky,  and  had  struck  it 
rich  at  the  last  place  we  had  been  at,  and  we 
agreed,  instead  of  spending  our  money  in  a 
spree  or  at  the  monte  tables,  we  would  fit  out 
an  expedition  and  try  it.  Now  I  believe  that 
attack  was  made  on  me  to  try  and  get  that 
piece  of  paper.  The  chap  who  bolted  may 
like  enough  have  hid  himself  and  watched  us, 
and  may  have  seen  us  find  it  and  me  take 
charge  of  it.  We  thought  more  than  once 
since  we  came  down  here  that  we  were  being 
dogged  by  a  greaser,  but  we  never  thought 
about  the  paper.  That  evening  I  had  been 
out  by  myself,  which  I  did  not  often  do,  for 
we  in  general  went  about  together,  and  was 
going  back  along  that  street,  and  was  pretty 
nigh  home,  when  someone  said  in  Spanish, 
'  That  is  the  fellow,'  and  then  five  men  jumped 
out  with  knives  in  their  hands.  I  had  just 
time  to  whip  out  my  six-shooter  and  fire  once. 


26  THE   GOLDEN   CAfJON. 

One  fellow  went  down,  but  at  the  same  mo- 
ment I  got  a  clip  across  my  wrist  with  a  knife, 
and  down  went  the  pistol.  Then  I  got  a  slice 
across  the  head,  and  another  on  the  shoulder, 
and  down  I  went.  Two  of  them  threw  them- 
selves on  me,  and  I  shammed  dead,  knowing 
that  if  I  moved  it  was  all  over  with  me.  One 
of  them  shoved  his  hand  in  my  trousers 
pockets,  and  the  other  tore  my  shirt  open.  I 
heard  a  sudden  row,  a  blow,  and  the  fall  of  a 
body;  then  one  of  them  came  tumbling  down 
on  the  top  of  us  and  knocked  the  two  fellows 
over,  then  they  jumped  up,  and  I  heard  your 
pistol  crack  twice  and  two  falls,  and  as  I  got 
up  on  to  my  feet  to  lend  a  hand  I  saw  one  of 
the  fellows  bolting  down  the  street,  running 
ofif  in  another  direction.  That  was  the  one,  I 
think,  that  came  down  on  the  top  of  us. 

"  I  have  been  wondering  since  then  how 
it  was  that  that  fellow  fell,  for  you  did  not  fire 
till  they  jumped  up." 

Dick  explained  that  he  had  felled  one  with 
a  blow  from  the  stick,  and  not  having  time  to 
strike  with  it  again,  had  sent  the  second  stag- 


THE  GOLD-SEEKERS.  27 

gering  over  the  group  with  a  blow  of  his  fist; 
"  those  are  the  two  that  got  away,  I  expect/' 
he  said. 

"  I  expect  so;  there  were  four  bodies  on  the 
ground — yours,  the  two  fellows  you  shot,  and 
the  one  I  wiped  out  to  begin  with." 

"  Has  there  been  any  row  about  it?  "  Dick 
asked.  ^^ 

"  No;  they  take  these  things  quietly.  If 
it  had  been  one  of  my  mates  and  me  who  had 
killed  three  Mexicans,  our  story  that  we  had 
been  attacked  might  not  have  been  believed, 
but  as  it  was  certain  a  young  ship's  officer 
would  not  have  joined  me  in  falling  foul  of 
three  natives,  they  just  took  and  buried  them, 
and  there  was  an  end  of  it." 


< 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MORE   PLANS. 

"I  SUPPOSE  this  is  Dave's  room?"  Dick 
said  when  he  and  his  friend  were  alone. 

"Yes,  from  what  he  said  they  lodged  here 
together,  but  the  other  two  went  somewhere 
else  the  day  after  you  were  brought  in,  so  that 
the  place  should  be  quiet,  but  they  come  in  by 
turns  to  sit  up  with  you  at  night.  I  wish  they 
would  take  us  with  them  on  this  expedition, 
Dick." 

"  I  wish  they  would;  it  would  be  a  splendid 
adventure,  and  we  might  come  back  with  no 
end  of  gold.  At  any  rate,  after  being  four 
months  under  Collet,  I  think  we  have  a  right 
to  a  holiday.  I  expect  they  will  let  us  go 
with  them  if  you  make  a  strong  point  of  it, 
Dick." 

"  It  shan't  be  for  want  of  trying,  Tom,  any- 
how." 

■I 


MORE   PLANS. 


The  lads  had  their  way.  As  soon  as  she 
three  men  saw  that  they  were  really  bent 
upon  accompanying  them,  they  raised  no  fur- 
ther objections. 

"  We  shall  be  glad  enough  to  have  you  with 
us,"  Dave  said,  "  and  though  the  work  will 
be  toilsome  and  hard,  there  is  nothing  in  it 
that  two  active  young  chaps  like  you  needjie- 
afraid  of.  It  is  just  the  Injuns — they  are  the 
worst  kind,  and  have  always  set  themselves 
against  gold-seekers.  That  is  natural  enough, 
for  they  know  that  if  gold  mines  were  once 
opened  in  their  country,  the  whites  v/ould 
pour  in,  and  they  would  soon  be  wiped  ojLit_ 
Anyhow,  everyone  who  goes  prospecting  in 
that  part  of  Arizona  knows  well  enough  that 
he  takes  his  life  in  his  hands. 

"  All  along  the  country  by  the  Gila  River 
is  the  stronghold  of  the  Apaches,  the  terror  of 
Northern  Mexico.  Many  parties  of  miners 
have  set  out,  but  very  few  have  ever  come 
back  again;  but  those  that  have  tell  of  gold 
richer  by  a  hundred  times  than  ever  was  seen 
in  California,  and  have  brought  with  them 


30  THE   GOLDEN   Ca5J0N. 

sacks  of  nuggets  to  prove  it.  Tliese  are  men 
who  have  had  the  luck  to  get  in  and  out  with- 
out ever  having  been  seen  by  the  Injuns;  the 
large  parties  have  never  succeeded.  So  you 
see,  young  fellows,  the  odds  are  strongly  agin 
you.  Still,  if  you  like  to  go  with  us,  you  are 
welcome;  but  if  the  time  comes  v/hen  the  red- 
skins have  got  us  shut  up  in  some  place  we 
can  never  get  out  of  alive,  remember  that  you 
arc  tiierc  on  your  own  choice,  and  that  we 
had  no  hand  in  getting  you  into  the  scrape." 

"  We  will  never  blame  you,  whatever  comes 
of  it,  Dave.  If  the  risk  is  not  too  great  for 
you  and  your  comrades,  it  is  not  too  great  for 
us.  There  is  nothing  in  the  world  we  should 
like  so  much  as  such  an  adventure." 

"  Well,  that  is  settled  then,  and  no  more 
words  about  it.  We  shall  be  glad  to  have 
two  more  with  us,  and  we  intended  to  go 
alone  only  because  it  is  not  everyone  that  can 
be  trusted." 

"  What  do  we  take  with  us?  " 

"  We  shall  each  take  a  horse,  and  a  Mexi- 
can pony  to  carry  our  food  and  traps.     If 


MORE   PLANS.  31 

everything  goes  right  and  we  find  a  hoiianza, 
we  can  load  them  up  on  the  way  back. 
Twenty  dollars  will  buy  a  pony  here.  Then 
you  will  want  a  critter  each  to  ride.  We  are 
not  going  to  get  first-rate  ones,  for  if  the  In- 
dians come  on  us  it  is  fighting  that  we  shall 
have  to  do,  not  riding.  Among  those  moun- 
tains no  shod  horse  of  the  plains  has  a  chance 
with  those  Indian  ponies,  which  can  climb  Hke 
goats  and  go  at  a  gallop  along  places  where  a 
horse  from  the  plains  wouldn't  dare  move. 
Then  you  will  want  rifles  and  six-shooters. 
That  is  about  all;  I  am  afraid  our  stock  of 
money  will  hardly  run  to  it,  and  I  think  we 
had  better  work  for  a  while  in  one  of  the  dig- 
gings to  make  up  what  we  shall  want." 

"  We  have  twenty  pounds  between  us," 
Dick  said,  "  and  we  can  draw  on  our  fathers 
for  twenty-five  pounds  each.  The  Consul 
here  has,  of  course,  heard  of  my  being 
wounded  and  left  behind,  and  I  expect  he 
won't  mind  cashing  our  draft." 

"There  will  be  more  than  we  want,"  the 
miner  said.     "  Still,  it  is  as  well  to  be  on  the 


32  THE  GOLDEN  CAfJON. 

right  side.  If  we  don't  find  any  gold  up 
there,  we  shall  want  a  little  w^hen  we  get  back' 
to  keep  us  going  until  something  turns 
up." 

Three  days  later  Dick  was  strong  enougK 
to  go  with  his  friend  to  the  Consul's;  they 
found  that  Mr.  Allen  had  spoken  about  Dick, 
and  told  him  that  should  he  recover  from  his 
wounds,  he  could  cash  a  draft  for  him  without 
any  fear.  Therefore  in  half  an  hour  the  lads 
returned  to  their  lodgings  with  three  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars,  having  changed  their  Eng- 
lish gold  into  the  currency  of  the  country. 

"  You  have  not  got  your  horses  yet,  I  sup- 
pose, Dave?  " 

"  No,  we  shall  go  up  the  river  about  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty  miles.  There  we  shall  buy 
horses  cheaper  than  we  can  get  them  here. 
We  have  got  rifles  and  colts;  they  are  things 
one  can't  very  w^ell  do  without  in  knocking 
about  among  the  hills.  I  will  go  round  the 
town,  and  I  have  no  doubt  I  shall  be  able  to 
pick  you  up  what  you  want  cheap.  There 
are  so  many  men  get  rubbed  out  one  way  or 


V 


MORE   PLANS.  33 

tfie  other  that  such  things  are  pretty  often  for 
sale." 

The  other  two  miners,  who  during  Dick's 
illness  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  stroll  about 
the  town,  both  knew  of  men  who  had  rifles  or 
revolvers  to  dispose  of,  and  in  a  couple  of 
hours  the  purchases  were  completed  and  a 
considerable  stock  of  ammunition  was  also 
bought. 

"  I  should  recommend  yer,"  the  miner 
called  'Zekel  said,  as  the  party  were  talking 
matters  over  that  evening,  "  to  rig  yourselves 
out  miner  fashion.  Them  uniforms  looks 
very  nice  on  board  ship,  but  they  aint  much 
good  for  knocking  about  in  the  mountains; 
and  yer  can  leave  them  here^  and  take  to  them 
again  when  yer  gets  back." 

The  lads  thought  the  advice  was  good,  and 
next  day  rigged  themselves  out  in  red  shirts 
and  high  boots,  in  which  were  tucked  the  bot- 
tom of  the  thick  moleskin  trousers.  They 
also  bought  jackets  of  the  same  material  as 
the  trousers. 

You  will  be  glad  of  them  at  night,"  Dave 


tt 


34  THE  GOLDEN  CANON. 

said;  "  it  gets  pretty  cold  up  in  the  mountains 
when  the  sun  is  down,  and  we  shan't  be  Hght- 
ing  any  fires,  you  bet." 

They  also  bought  a  couple  of  rough 
blankets  each,  a  spare  shirt,  and  two  or  three 
pairs  of  stockings,  a  couple  of  long  bowie 
knives,  and  two  broad-brimmed  felt  hats. 


»*.,,  .i,.  ^i  .~<.. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   SEARCH    FOR   THE   CANON. 

Ten  days  later  the  party  took  passage  in  a 
large  boat  going  up  the  river  to  Santa.  Fe.  It 
had  come  down  freighted  with  hides,  and  the 
odor  still  hung  about  it.  However,  by  this 
time  they  had  become  accustomed  to  the 
smell,  and  scarcely  noticed  it.  The  boat  was 
manned  by  six  Mexicans,  who  sometimes 
poled  it  along,  sometimes,  when  the  stream 
was  rapid,  got  ashore  and  towed  from  the 
bank. 

It  took  them  six  days  to  arrive  at  Santa  Fe. 
Although  just  inside  the  United  States  fron- 
tier, the  population  was  almost  entirely  Mexi- 
can. There  were,  however,  a  few  American 
stores,  containing  European  goods  of  all 
kinds,  for  the  use  of  the  natives,  and  such 
articles  as  miners  or  prospectors  going  up 
among  the  hills  would  require.     Here  they 

35 


36  THE   GOLDEN  CANON. 

had  no  difficulty  in  purchasing  horses.  Five 
rough,  serviceable  ponies  for  the  carriage  of 
the  baggage  were  picked  up  at  twenty  dollars 
a  piece,  and  five  well-made  and  wiry  horses 
for  their  own  riding.  Mexican  saddles,  with 
very  high  pommels  and  cantles,  heavy  and 
cumbersome  to  look  at,  but  very  comfortable 
for  long  distances,  were  also  obtained  without 
difficulty.  At  the  stores  were  bought  two 
sacks  of  flour  and  two  sides  of  bacon,  a  frying 
pan,  saucepan,  baking  pot,  and  a  good  supply 
of  tea  and  sugar;  four  large  water-skins,  five 
small  ones,  completed  their  purchases,  with 
the  exception  of  shovels,  picks,  and  pails  for 
washing  the  gravel. 

"  Going  up  among  the  hills  again,  Dave?  " 
remarked  the  store-keeper,  with  whom  the 
miners  had  often  dealt  before. 

"  Yes,  we  are  going  to  try  a  new  direction 
this  time,  and  don't  want  to  have  to  come 
back  directly  we  have  struck  anything.  We 
have  got  enough  grub  here  for  three  or  four 
months,  reckoning  as  we  shall  occasionally 
get  hold  of  bear  or  deer  meat." 


THE   SEARCH    FOR   THE   CA5J0N.  37 

"  Well,  you  had  better  keep  clear  of  the  In- 
dian country,  Dave.  They  made  a  raid  down 
South,  I  hear,  last  month,  and  burnt  half  a 
dozen  Mexican  villages,  and  they  would  make 
short  work  with  you  if  they  came  across  you 
anywhere  near  their  country.  However,  I 
suppose  you  aint  going  to  be  fool  enough  to 
go  that  way,  especially  as  I  see  you  have  got 
two  green  hands  with  you." 

"  They  are  old  enough  to  be  useful,"  Dave 

said.     "  We  can  put  them  to  cook  and  look 

"     after  the  horses,  if  they  can't  do  anything  else. 

They  are  Britishers,  and  one  of  them  stood  by 

me  pluckily  in  a  mess  I  got  into  in  San  Diego; 

so  as  they  had  left  their  ship  and  were  out  of 

*     a  berth,  I  thought  I  would  bring  them  with 

(  me,  as  they  had  a  fancy  for  seeing  a  little  of 

I  mining  life,  before  they  shipped  back  again." 

Two  days  after  their  arrival  at  Santa  Fe 
they  started. 

"  We  will  strike  due  south  as  if  intending  to 
enter  Mexico;  one  never  knows  who  is  watch- 
ing one,"  Dave  said  the  evening  before. 
"  There  are  always  arome  pretty  hard  men 


38  THE  GOLDEN   CANON. 

about  these  border  towns — miners  who  are 
down  on  their  luck;  men  who  have  had  to  run 
from  the  northern  diggings,  and  such  Hke. 
We  may  say  what  we  Hke,  but  they  will  make 
a  guess  that  we  have  located  something  rich, 
and  are  going  back  to  work  it  quietly  and 
keep  it  to  ourselves,  and  like  enough  some  of 
them  will  take  it  in  their  heads  to  follow  us. 
Anyhow,  we  will  travel  south  for  a  day  or  two, 
and  then  turn  off  sharp  to  the  west.  It  aint 
as  I  should  grudge  anyone  else  a  share  in  the 
mine,  but  the  more  there  are  the  more  chance 
of  the  Injuns  finding  us.  Besides,  some  of 
these  chaps  are  so  reckless  that  like  as  not 
they  would  light  a  big  fire  if  they  wanted  to 
cook  a  loaf  of  bread.  We  three  have  been  up 
that  way  before,  although  not  so  far  as  we 
are  going  now,  and  we  know  what  we  have 
got  to  expect,  and  that,  if  we  are  going  to 
bring  our  scalps  out  again,  we  have  got  to 
sleep  with  our  eyes  open." 

Another  fortnight's  traveling  and  they  had 
passed  the  last  settlements,  had  left  Fort 
Mason  behind  them,   and  had  entered  the 


THE  SEARCH   FOR  THE   CANON.  39 

country  that  the  Apaches  and  kindred  tribes 
claimed  as  their  own. 

The  two  lads  had  enjoyed  the  journey  im- 
mensely. They  had  traveled  about  fifteen 
miles  a  day,  their  pace  being  regulated  by  that 
of  the  pack  animals.  During  the  heat  of  the 
day  they  had  all  halted  in  the  shade  of  some 
clump  of  tree  or  bush.  Here  the  horses  had 
picked  up  their  sustenance,  grass  and  leaves, 
while  the  men  slept.  At  night  they  had 
camped,  when  they  could  find  such  a  spot,  on 
the  banks  of  a  stream.  Then  a  big  fire  would 
be  lighted,  a  dough  of  flour,  water,  and  soda 
would  be  mixed,  and  placed  in  the  baking 
pot.  This  was  put  among  the  red  embers, 
which  were  drawn  over  the  lid  so  as  to  bake  it 
from  above  as  well  as  below.  Then,  if  they 
had  no  other  meat,  rashers  of  bacon  would  be 
grilled  over  the  fire,  and  eaten  with  the  hot 
Bread.  Generally,  however,  they  had  been 
able  to  purchase  a  kid  or  some  fowls  at  one  or 
other  of  the  little  villages  through  which  they 
passed. 
They  always  carried  with  them  two  of  the 


40  THE   GOLDEN  CANON. 

large  skins  filled  with  water,  in  case  none 
should  be  met  with  at  their  halting  places; 
this  sufficed  for  tea  and  for  a  good  drink  at 
night,  and  before  starting  in  the  morning  for 
the  horses.  The  villages,  however,  had  be- 
come fewer  and  fewer,  and  at  the  last  through 
which  they  had  passed  they  had  bought  one 
of  the  little  bullocks  of  the  country,  cut  the 
flesh  into  strips,  and  hung  it  in  the  sun  to  dry, 
halting  three  days  for  the  purpose. 


4 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    MAP   AGAIN. 

"  Now,"  Dave  said,  as  they  finished  their 
meal  on  the  evening  after  leaving  Fort 
Mason,  "  we  have  got  to  consider  which 
course  we  had  better  take.  First  we  will 
have  another  look  at  the  map." 

This  was  taken  out  from  a  wash-leather 
case,  in  which  it  had  been  sewn,  Dave  carry- 
ing it  under  his  shirt  by  a  string  that  went 
round  his  neck.  It  was  the  first  time  that  the 
boys  had  seen  it.  As  Dave  opened  it  they 
examined  it  with  much  curiosity.  It  was  di- 
vided in  two;  the  upper  one  appeared  to  be  a 
general  map  of  the  country,  the  lower  one  a 
plan  of  the  immediate  locality  of  the  spot. 

"  It  looks  very  confusing,"  Dick  said,  as  he 
examined  it. 

"  You  see  the  chap  as  made  it  did  not  do  it 
for  other  people,  but  so  that  he  could  find  his 

4» 


42  THE   GOLDEN   CAxNON. 

way  back  by  it.  This  line  that  runs  along  the 
bottom  of  the  other  map  I  take  to  be  the  Gila, 
which  is  a  big  river  wliich  runs  right  through 
the  Indian  countr)',  and  falls  into  the  Rio 
Grande.  I  have  gone  up  it  from  that  side 
two  or  three  hundred  miles.  We  v.ere  a 
strong  party,  but  we  had  to  fight  our  way 
back  again,  and  lost  pretty  near  half  our  num- 
ber. You  see  by  the  map  it  lies  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Gila.  But  as  the  Gila  is  eight  or 
nine  hundred  miles  long,  that  don't  help  us  a 
great  deal,  and  the  map  wouldn't  be  any  good 
to  us  if  it  was  not  for  this  mark  here  up  near 
the  top.  You  see  all  these  things  are  meant 
for  mountains,  but  as  one  mountain  on  a  map 
is  just  like  another,  we  should  be  downright 
done  if  it  was  not  for  this  mark.  Do  you  see 
there  are  three  little  jags  here  close  together? 
Now  I  take  it  those  three  jags  are  meant  for  a 
mountain  the  Indians  call  the  Three  Sisters, 
which  is  a  mountain  with  three  peaks  close 
together.  I  never  saw  it  myself,  but  I  have 
spoken  with  miners  who  have  seen  it  from  the 
north.     Now,  here  you  see,  to  the  south  of 


THE  MAP  AGAIN.  43 

the  Three  Sisters,  is  a  cross,  and  I  take  it 
that's  the  mine.  You  see  there  is  a  black 
line  waving  about  among  the  mountains  that 
stops  at  that  point.  I  guess  that  is  the  line 
they  traveled  by." 

*'  But  there  is  nothing  to  tell  us  what  scale 
the  map  is  on,  Dave,"  Tom  said;  "it  may 
mean  five  hundred  miles  from  end  to  end,  it 
may  mean  fifty.  If  it  is  five  hundred  it  must 
be  seventy  or  eighty  miles  from  those  peaks 
to  the  cross,  if  it  is  fifty  it  is  only  seven  or 
eight." 

"  That  is  so,"  Dave  agreed. 

"  Have  you  any  idea  how  far  it  is  from  the 
three  peaks  to  the  river?  " 

"  Yes,  I  have  heard  it  is  about  fifty  miles 
north  of  the  Gila." 

"  Well,  that  would  make  this  spot  marked 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  miles  from  them.  The 
length  of  the  map  would  be  about  two  hun- 
dred miles,  and  as  the  peaks  are  about  a  quar- 
ter of  the  distance  from  the  right-hand  side, 
this  map  begins  about  a  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  to  the  west  of  the  peaks.    I  should  think 


44  THE   GOLDEN   CANON. 

it  would  be  at  some  well-known  place  that  the 
maker  of  this  map  began;  some  place  that  he 
knew  he  could  find  again  without  difficulty."' 

"  That  is  so;  you  will  see  the  line  begins  at 
a  stream  running  north  and  south.  There  is 
a  mark  here  each  side  of  the  path-line.  Of 
course  they  might  mean  anything;  they  migkt 
mean  trees  or  rocks.  Then  look  here;  there 
are  two  more  dots  out  here,  and  if  you  were 
to  draw  a  line  straight  through  them,  it  would 
come  to  the  other  dots.  One  must  be  three 
or  four  miles  off,  and  the  other  twelve  or 
fifteen.  The  farthest  one  may  be  a  peak,  and 
the  one  nearer  some  conspicuous  tree  or  rock 
in  a  line  with  it." 

"  Yes,  that  is  what  we  make  it  out  to  be," 
Boston  Joe  said.  "  We  have  the  choice  of 
either  going  up  the  Gila  valley  and  mounting 
this  side  stream  till  we  come  upon  something 
that  agrees  with  these  four  marks,  or  of  keep- 
ing along  from  the  west  by  a  valley  about  the 
right  distance  from  the  Gila." 

"  I  should  not  think  we  can  trust  much  to 
distances,"  Dick  said;  "  this  man  was  merely 


THE   MAP   AGAIN.  45 

sketching  out  a  plan  to  help  him  on  his  way 
up  again,  should  he  ever  make  up  a  party  to 
return  to  the  mine,  and,  though  probably 
these  bendings  and  turnings  of  the  road  are 
to  be  depended  upon,  the  map  itself  cannot 
be  done  to  any  scale.  Here  the  peaks  are 
made  twice  as  far  from  the  left  side  as  they 
are  from  the  river,  but  they  may  be  really  four 
times  as  far,  or  they  may  be  only  the  same  dis- 
tance; there  is  no  saying  at  all;  as  he  has 
■  drawn  it,  the  point  where  the  road  begins  is  a 
good  deal  more  to  the  south  than  the  peaks 
are.  If  the  scale  is  correct,  it  is  not  more 
than  thirty  miles  at  most  north  of  the  Gila 
that  the  path  begins.  You  see  about  halfway 
between  this  point  and  the  river  are  five  or  six 
little  marks  like  a  V  upside  down.  I  see 
there  are  other  marks  like  these  at  different 
places  on  the  map.  I  should  say  they  were 
meant  for  Indian  villages." 

**  That  is  so,  no  doubt,"  Dave  agreed. 
"  Here  i&  another  thing  beside  them;  what  do 
you  make  that  out  to  be,  Dick?  " 

It  looks  to  me  like  a  tiny  bird;  it  is  very 


it 


46  THE   GOLDEN   CANON. 

small  and  very  badly  done,  but  I  am  pretty 
sure  that  that  is  what  is  meant.  What  in  the 
world  can  he  have  put  a  bird  there  for?  Let 
us  look  at  the  other  villages."  lie  examined 
them  carefully,  "  Two  of  them  have  got 
figures.  This  one  looks  like  a  cat,  and  this  is 
a  siiake — at  least,  I  should  think  so." 

"  I  have  got  it,"  Dave  exclaimed.  "  Those 
are  the  names  of  the  chiefs.  I  know  the 
names  of  a  good  many  of  their  chiefs,  and 
there's  Rattlesnake  and  the  Mountain  Lion 
among  them." 

"  And  there  is  the  Crow,  too,  Dave,"  Bos- 
ton Joe  put  in. 

"  So  there  is;  I  know  he  is  the  chief  of  the 
tribes  whose  country  lies  this  side  of  the  Ari- 
zona. No  doubt  that  is  his  village.  Now  we 
have  it.  I  know  pretty  well  where  his  place 
is,  for  I  have  been  further  among  the  hills  than 
that.  I  can  find  my  way  there  easy  enough. 
When  we  get  to  the  stream  his  village  is  built 
on  we  have  got  to  hunt  along  it  till  we  find 
these  marks,  and  then  follow  on  the  line  he 
took.  The  Crow's  village  is  about  thirty  miles 


THE    MAP   AGAIII.  4^ 

north  of  the  Gila.     That  will  put  these  stops 
sixty  miles  from  the  river.  Yes,  this  straight- 
ens out  the  distances  pretty  considerable,  for  1 
should  say  that  from  them  to  the  three  peaks 
it  must  be  nigh  three  hundred  miles.     I  don't 
think  it  is  more  than  a  hundred  from  here  to 
the   Crow's   village.     It   should   be   an   easy 
thing  following  that  marked  line,  but  it  won't 
matter  if  we  miss  it.     Our  course  v/ill  be 
pretty  nigh  due  east,  not,  as  he  m.akes  it, 
north,  for  Vv^e  know  the  Sisters  are  not  m^ore 
than  eighty  miles  from  the  Gila.     When  we 
get  near  them  we  can't  help  seeing  them. 
Then  we  have  only  got  to  follov/  the  direction 
of  this  map  below.     There   are  the  peaks. 
Well,  right  in  front  of  them  is  a  lower  hill  with 
a  tree  on  its  top,  and  that  tree  exactly  in  line 
with  the  middle  peak  gives  us  the  line,  and  as 
the  tree  just  touches  the  bottom  of  the  peak, 
it  will  give  us  the  distance  to  within  half  a 
mile.     Here  are  tv;o  lines,  one  on  each  side  of 
the  line  from  the  peak  through  the  trees.     I 
don't  knovv^  what  they  mean,  but  I  guess  they 
mark  a  caiion,  and  when  we  go  up  that  we 


48  THE  GOLDEN   CANON. 

can  hardly  help  striking  the  mine,  wherever  it 
is.  I  think  we  have  got  the  thing  pretty  well 
down  to  a  point,  and  if  we  go  wrong  it  is  our 
own  fault." 

"  Shall  we  have  to  come  back  this  way?  " 
Dick  asked. 

"  That  must  depend  upon  circumstances," 
Dave  replied.  "  We  might  make  straight 
north  and  come  down  on  a  pass  that  crosses 
the  mountains  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
north  of  the  Sisters,  but  I  reckon  it  would  be 
a  terrible  journey  to  undertake  with  loaded 
mules.  Then  again  we  might  strike  east,  and 
make  either  for  Albuquerque  or  Socorro. 
Like  enough  we  may  find  that  our  best  way." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   SCARCITY   OF   WATER. 

Five  days  later  they  reached  the  stream. 
The  miners  had  all  recognized  points  that 
they  had  passed  on  their  former  journey,  and 
all  agreed  that  it  was  lower  down  on  this 
stream  that  the  Crow's  village  was  situated. 
For  the  moment  this  was  a  matter  of  inferior 
importance  to  them.  It  was  enough  that 
they  had  reached  water,  for  they  had  for  the 
last  four  days  been  traversing  an  arid  waste  of 
broken  country,  without  as  much  as  a  tree 
under  which  they  could  lie  during  the  day. 
They  had  filled  up  all  their  water  skins  before 
entering  on  this  region,  and  these  had  sufficed 
for  them  and  their  animals,  but  for  the  last 
two  days  they  had  been  obliged  to  husband  it. 
What  remained  tasted  so  strongly  of  the  skins 
that  at  any  other  time  the  boys  could  not  have 

49 


50  THE   GOLDEN   CAfJON. 

drank  it,  but  men  and  horses  were  both  filled 
with  delight  at  the  sight  of  the  bright  clear 
water.  The  baggage  and  saddles  were  re- 
moved, and  the  animals  were  allowed  to  drink 
their  fill,  and  then  to  lie  down  in  the  stream 
while  their  riders  enjoyed  the  luxury  of  a 
bath. 

They  had  done  no  cooking  for  the  last  four 
uays,  as  no  fuel  of  any  sort  was  to  be  obtained, 
and  they  lived  upon  the  dried  meat  and  a 
drink  of  flour  and  water.  The  banks  of  the 
stream  were  well  wooded,  and  the  animals,  as 
soon  as  their  thirst  was  quenched,  fell  to  work 
upon  the  grass  that  grew  knee-deep  near  its 
banks. 

"  We  must  do  some  cooking  to-day,"  Dave 
said,  "  and  a  good  batch  of  it;  there  is  no  say- 
ing when  it  will  be  safe  to  cook  again.  We 
must  wait  till  night,  and  then  light  the  fire  in 
the  thickest  part  of  these  trees,  and  fasten  our 
blankets  up  round  it  to  prevent  its  light  being 
seen.  We  can  collect  the  firewood  in  readi- 
ness before  it  gets  dark." 

The  spot  was  carefully  chosen,  the  horse- 


THE  SCARCITY   OF  WATER.  $1 

ropes  were  fastened  from  tree  to  tree  around 
it,  and  all  the  blankets  hung  on  them. 

"We  must  take  it  by  turns,"  Dave  said, 
"  to  keep  the  fire  up,  and  go  on  baking.  We 
will  make  a  dozen  loaves  if  we  can." 

As  they  sat  round  the  fire  later  on  they  dis- 
cussed their  next  move,  and  agreed  that  as 
the  river  was  shallow  they  would  cross  it  at 
once,  and  then  follow  it  up  stream.  Should 
they  find  no  landmarks  ansvv^ering  to  those  on 
the  map,  they  would  then  return  and  go  down 
the  stream. 

Next  morning  they  started  again,  with  fif- 
teen loaves  done  up  in  a  blanket  on  one  of  the 
ponies.  The  journey  was  toilsome,  for  the 
river  ran  in  places  through  gorges  where  the 
rocks  rose  sheer  from  its  edge,  and  they  were 
forced  to  make  considerable  detours,  and  to 
come  down  upon  it  again.  They  had  trav- 
eled, they  calculated,  but  eight  miles  up  the 
stream,  when  they  came  upon  a  valley  run- 
ning east.  A  small  stream  ran  down  it,  and 
fell  into  the  river  they  were  following. 

"  This  looks  a  likely  sort  of  place,"  Dave 


52  THE   GOLDEN  CA5J0N. 

said;  "  it  is  the  sort  of  valley  a  party  exploring' 
would  be  likely  to  follow.  There  is  wood, 
water,  and  grass.     Now  for  the  landmarks." 

They  went  on  until  they  reached  the  spot 
where  the  stream  fell  into  the  river, 

"  We  can't  do  better  than  camp  here, 
Dave,"  'Zekel  said;  "it  has  been  a  rough 
journey  for  the  ponies,  and  they  will  be  all 
the  better  for  another  good  feed." 

"  All  right,"  Dave  agreed,  "  I  don't  see  any 
sfgns  of  the  landmarks,  but  they  may  be 
somewhere  about.  We  will  unsaddle  the 
ponies.  Eoys,  you  may  as  well  walk  up  the 
stream  a  bit.  Keep  your  eyes  open,  but  don't 
go  very  far  away.  Keep  your  rifles  ready  for 
use;  there  is  no  saying  but  what  some  prowl- 
ing Indian  mav  not  have  caught  sight  of  us 
as  we  came  along." 

The  boys  unslung  their  rifles,  which  were 
strapped  tightly  to  their  backs — they  were 
already  loaded — and  started  up  the  valley. 
In  a  quarter  of  a  mile  they  passed  through  the 
low  wood  which  filled  the  bottom  of  the  val- 
ley.    In  front  of  them  was  an  open  space, 


THE  SCARCITY   OF  WATER.  53 

bright  with  long  grass  and  flowers.  In  the 
center  of  this  stood  two  large  trees,  one  on 
either  side  of  the  stream.  They  hurried  on, 
and  when  they  reached  the  trees  saw,  to  the 
northwest,  two  peaks,  one  nearer  and  lower 
than  the  other,  in  an  exact  line.  As  the  di- 
rection, was  exactly  that  of  the  two  dots  on 
the  map,  they  had  no  doubt  whatever  that 
they  had  hit  the  right  spot.  They  returned 
at  once  with  the  news  to  the  men.  Dave  had 
already  lighted  a  fire,  for  in  this  sheltered  val- 
ley there  was  little  fear  of  the  slight  smoke  it 
made  being  seen,  broken  up  as  it  was  in  its 
passage  through  the  leaves  overhead. 

"  We  have  found  the  marks,"  Dick  said,  as 
they  arrived.  "  We  don't  think  there  can  be 
any  mistakes  about  them." 

"  Have  you?  That  is  good,"  and  the  three 
men  at  once  went  on  to  the  two  trees. 

"  There  is  no  doubt  that  is  what  was 
meant,"  Boston  Joe  said.  "  Wall,  I  am  glad 
to  see  them — it  shows,  anyhow,  that  we  are 
right  in  our  guess-work  as  to  the  map,  which 
we  never  felt  quite  sure  of  before,  seeing  them 


54  THE   GOLDEN   CA^fON. 

three  peaks  war  the  only  tiling  we  had  to  go 
on,  and  the  marks  might  not  have  been  meant 
for  them  arter  all.  Now  the  matter  air  clear 
and  fixed,  and  we  have  only  got  to  go  ahead." 
"  Yes,  we  will  stick  to  the  line  they  have 
traveled  as  shown  in  the  map,  but  if  we  miss 
it,  it  is  no  great  odds;  we  know  where  we  have 
got  to  go  to,  and  we  can  find  our  way  there, 
I  guess,  anyhow.  Still,  their  line  may  be  the 
best.  They  may  have  had  some  redskin  as 
their  guide,  who  knew  the  country,  and  took 
them  tlie  best  way.  Anyhow,  we  can't  do 
better  than  try  and  follow  it.'" 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   GOLDEN    VALLEY. 

It  was  nearly  a  month  later  that  the  gold- 
seekers  arrived  at  a  point  due  south  of  the 
three  peaks.  The  journey  had  been  a  toil- 
some one.  At  times  they  made  their  way 
through  deep  gorges.  At  others  they  had  to 
climb  rocky  hills,  where  the  horses  could 
scarce  obtain  a  foothold.  One  of  their  pack 
ponies  had  been  lost,  having  slipped  and  fal- 
len over  a  precipice  many  hundreds  of  feet 
deep,  and  they  had  lost  a  day  making  a  long 
detour  to  reach  the  spot  where  he  fell,  in 
order  to  recover  the  articles  he  had  carried. 
For  the  first  half  of  the  distance  they  had, 
they  believed,  followed  the  track  marked  on 
the  map,  but  they  then  found  themselves  at 
the  head  of  a  deep  valley  from  which  they 
could  discover  no  egress,  and  it  was  therefore 
clear  that  they  must  have  misunderstood  the 

5S 


56  THE  GOLDEN   CAKON. 

marks  and  have  taken  a  wrong  turning  some- 
where. 

From  this  time  they  had  put  aside  the  map, 
and  made  their  way  as  nearly  east  as  the 
inequaHties  of  the  ground  permitted.  They 
had  no  difficulties  as  to  forage  for  their 
horses.  In  many  of  the  valleys  there  was  an 
abundance  of  coarse  grass,  and  among  the 
rocks  the  aloe  and  cactus  grew  thickly,  and 
when,  as  was  sometimes  the  case,  no  water 
was  to  be  found,  they  peeled  the  thorny  skin 
from  the  thick  juicy  leaves  and  gave  the  pulp 
to  the  animals. 

For  themselves  they  shot  three  bears  and 
several  small  mountain  deer.  There  was 
little  fear  of  the  sound  of  their  rifles  being 
heard  in  these  mountain  gorges,  and  should 
the  report  have  reached  the  ear  of  an  Indian 
he  would  have  supposed  that  it  was  the  gun 
of  some  red  hunters.  There  were  indeed 
only  two  villages  marked  on  the  map  any- 
where near  the  line  they  were  following,  as 
the  great  bulk  of  the  Indians  lived  on  the 
slopes  of  the  hills  on  either  side  of  the  Gila, 


THE   GOLDEN   VALIEY.  57 

whence  they  could  make  llieir  raids  into 
Mexico  to  tiie  south  or  to  New  Mexico  to  the 
east. 

Here  among  the  mountains  they  could  sub- 
sist on  the  proceeds  of  tlie  cliase  and  tlie  httle 
plantations  tended  by  the  women,  but  this 
offered  small  attractions  to  the  restless  and 
warlike  Indians,  who  preferred  depending 
upon  the  plunder  that  they  could  always 
gather  by  a  raid  upon  the  defenseless  l^.Iexi- 
can  villages.  Thus  during  the  whole  journey 
they  had  not  once  caught  sight  of  an  Indian, 
though  they  had  two  or  three  times  made  out, 
M'-ith  the  aid  of  a  telescope  Tom  had  brought 
with  him,  little  clusters  of  wigwams  far  away 
among  the  hills. 

*'  There  will  be  more  danger  when  we  get 
near  the  place,"  'Zekel  said  one  evening  when 
they  were  talking  it  over.  "  The  redskins 
know  well  enough  that  it  is  gold  the  whites 
who  come  into  their  mountains  are  in  search 
of,  and  I  guess  they  know  every  place  where 
it  is  to  be  found.  A  redskin  always  has  his 
eyes  open.     A  broken  branch,  a  stone  newly 


58  THE   GOLDEN  CaRON. 

rolled  down  on  a  path,  the  ashes  of  a  fire,  the 
slightest  thing  that  is  new,  he  is  sure  to  no- 
tice, and  the  glitter  of  gold,  whether  in  a 
stream  or  in  a  vein,  would  be  certain  to  catch 
his  eye,  and  if  this  place  is  specially  rich  they 
are  safe  to  know  of  it,  and  would  keep  some 
sort  of  watch  to  see  that  it  is  not  found  out  by 
the  whites." 

"  That  is  so,"  Dave  agreed;  "  of  course  we 
don't  know  how  the  party  that  Mexican  got 
the  map  from  got  wiped  out.  It  may  have 
been  on  their  way  back,  but  it  is  more  likely 
it  was  at  the  mine  itself,  and  we  may  find  signs 
of  them  when  we  get  there.  I  hope  they  had 
been  at  work  some  time  before  they  were  at- 
tacked; if  so  we  may  like  enough  find  a  store 
of  gold  without  the  trouble  of  working  for  it. 
It  is  no  use  to  the  redskins.  They  don't  do 
any  trade  with  the  whites,  and  they  don't 
wear  gold  ornaments.  They  are  wise  enough 
to  know  that  if  they  were  to  show  much  gold 
about  them  it  would  make  the  whites  more 
eager  than  ever  to  come  in  among  their 
mountains  in  search  of  it,  so  if  the  Mexican 


THE   GOLDEN   VALLEY  59 

party  gathered  some  up  afore  they  went 
under,  like  enough  we  shall  find  it." 

It  was  with  deep  satisfaction  that  they  at 
last  caught  sight  of  the  mountain  with  three 
sharp  peaks,  but  it  was  four  days  after  they 
first  saw  it  tliat  they  reached  a  point  due 
south  of  it.  They  were  now  in  a  wide  valley 
running  east  and  west;  to  the  south  a  wall  of 
rock  rose  in  a  seemingly  unbroken  line.  On 
the  northern  side  of  the  valley  the  hills  sloped 
away,  rising  one  above  another,  with  the 
peaks  of  the  Sisters  visible  above  them  all. 

They  had  left  their  animals  in  charge  of 
Boston  Joe,  in  a  clump  of  trees  four  miles 
back,  as  the  miners  were  of  opinion  that  some 
Indian  village  might  lie  somewhere  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  that  it  would  be  safer  to 
make  their  way  on  foot.  One  of  the  many 
branches  of  the  Gila  ran  along  the  center  of 
the  valley,  but  except  in  deep  pools  it  was  now 
dry. 

"  Now  we  must  keep  a  sharp  lookout  for 
marks  on  the  hills,"  Dave  said;  "  v/e  know  we 
are  about  right  as  to  the  line,  but  we  may 


6o  THE   GOLDEN  CARON. 

have  to  go  two  or  three  miles  north  or  as 
much  south  before  we  get  a  mark  just  bearing 
on  that  middle  peak.  Stop,"  he  broke  off 
suddenly;  "look  up  there  just  beyond  the 
shoulder  of  that  hill;  there  are  some  wigwams, 
sure  enough." 

Tom  brought  his  telescope  to  bear. 

"  Yes,  there  are  about  twenty  of  them,  but 
they  never  can  see  us  at  this  distance." 

"  Don't  you  make  any  mistake,  young  fel- 
low; there  aint  no  saying  what  an  Indian  can 
see  and  what  he  can't  see.  I  reckon  their 
eyes  is  as  good  as  that  glass  of  yours,  and  I 
would  not  guarantee  they  could  not  see  a  rab- 
bit run  at  this  distance.  There,  get  among 
those  rocks  at  the  foot  of  the  cliff;  we  will 
make  our  way  along  them,  hiding  as  much  as 
we  can.  I  suppose  those  are  horses  away 
there  on  the  hillside  to  the  right  of  the  village; 
they  can't  be  nothing  else." 

"  Yes,  they  are  horses,  Dave." 

For  another  half  hour  they  made  their  way 
among  the  rocks,  and  then  Dick  exclaimed 
suddenly: 


,^  THE  GOLDEN  VALLEY.  6l 

"  Look,  Dave,  there  is  a  tree  standing  by 
itself  at  the  top  of  that  hill.  I  believe  in  an- 
other fifty  yards  it  will  just  be  on  the  line  of 
the  peaks." 

"  I  think  you  are  right,  Dick,  and  we  have 
hit  the  very  point  at  the  first  try;  if  it  is  right, 
there  must  be  a  break  in  this  wall  above  us." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   TREE   ON    THE    PEAK. 

They  hastened  on  now  with  their  eyes  fixed 
on  the  tree.  A  minute  later  an  exclamation 
broke  from  Dave,  who  was  ahead,  and  the 
others  on  joining  him  saw  that  the  great  wall 
of  rock  had  been  split  as  if  by  an  earthquake. 
The  opening  was  not  more  than  ten  yards 
wide,  and  on  looking  up  a  narrow  line  of  sky 
appeared  between  the  walls  of  rock.  Look- 
ing the  other  way,  they  saw  that  the  tree  on 
the  hill  bore  exactly  on  the  middle  peak,  the 
Indian  village  lying  just  in  the  same  line  half- 
way up  the  hill. 

"  Here  is  the  place,  sure  enough,"  Dave 

said;  "  there  can't  be  no  mistake  about  it;  it 

is  just  as  the  map  made  it,  the  tree  on  the 

middle  peak  and  the  line  from  them  going 

right  into  this  Canon.     Look,  boys,  there  is 

a  stream  comes  down  here  in  the  wet  season, 

62 


V 

1^ 


THE   TREE   ON   THE   PEAK.  63 

and  runs  into  the  one  in  the  middle  of  the  val- 
ley. See,  I  can  make  out  gold  sparkling  in 
the  sand;  that  is  how  it  was  the  place  was 
found;  they  were  prospecting  along  the  val- 
ley, and  they  came  upon  gold,  and  traced  it 
up  to  the  mouth  of  this  Cafion." 

"  Shall  v/e  go  in  now,  Dave?  "  Dick  asked 
'^excitedly,  for  they  were  still  standing  among 
the  rocks,  which  broke  off  abruptly  opposite 
the  mouth  of  the  Caiion,  those  in  front  of  it 
evidently  having  been  swept  away  by  the  tor- 
rents flowing  down  it. 

"  No,  don't  go  a  step  forward,  Dick. 
Don't  let  us  risk  nothing  by  showing  our- 
selves now.  We  will  make  our  way  back  as 
we  came  to  Boston,  and  bring  up  the  horses 
after  dark.  We  have  not  got  a  chance  to 
throw  away,  I  can  tell  you." 

At  night  they  returned  with  the  horses;  two 
blankets  had  been  cut  up,  and  the  feet  of  the 
animals  muffled. 

"  If  one  of  them  redskins  was  to  come  upon 
our  track  and  saw  the  print  of  a  horseshoe,  it 
would  be  all  up  with  us,"  Zeke  said;  "  we  had 


64  THE   GOLDEN  CA5J0N. 

best  do  the  same  ourselves;  the  heel  of  a  boot 
would  be  as  ugly  a  mark  as  a  horseshoe.  We 
must  keep  v;ell  along  at  the  edge  of  these 
fallen  rocks.  Like  enough  they  come  down 
here  to  fetch  water  up  to  their  village,  and 
the  further  we  keep  away  from  the  stream  the 
better." 

The  moon  was  half  full,  which  was  fortu- 
nate, as  they  would  otherwise  have  had  great 
difficulty  in  finding  the  narrow  gap  in  the  clifT. 
Its  light,  too,  enabled  them  to  avoid  rocks 
that  had  rolled  out  farther  than  the  rest;  once 
inside  the  gorge  it  was  pitch-dark,  and  they 
had  to  feel  their  way  along. 

In  about  a  hundred  yards  it  began  to  widen, 
and  they  soon  found  themselves  in  a  narrow 
valley  with  perpendicular  sides,  which  seemed 
to  widen  farther  up.  The  horses  were  at 
once  unloaded. 

"  Now  do  you  lie  down,"  Dave  said.  "  I 
will  keep  watch  at  the  mouth.  I  don't  think 
there  is  any  danger;  still,  we  may  as  well  be- 
gin as  we  shall  have  to  go  on." 

"  Well,  call  me  up  in  a  couple  of  hours, 


THE   TREE  ON  THE   PEAK.  65 

then,"  Zeke  said;  "it  will  begin  to  get  light 
in  about  four,  and  as  soon  as  it  does  we  will 
cover  up  the  tracks." 

With  the  first  dawn  of  Hght  the  three 
miners,  taking  their  blankets,  went  down  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Canon.  The  boys  accom- 
panied them  to  watch  their  operations.  It 
was  only  in  the  sand  and  gravel  swept  down 
by  the  floods  from  the  gorge  that  any  foot- 
marks could  be  seen;  these  were  first  leveled, 
and  then  with  the  blankets  the  surface  of  the 
sand  was  carefully  swept  so  as  to  erase  all 
signs  of  disturbance.  Before  the  sun  was  up 
the  operation  was  completed,  twenty  or  thirty 
yards  up  the  Canon. 

'That  is  enough  for  the  present,"  Dave 
said;  "we  are  safe  from  anyone  passing. 
Now,  let  us  have  a  look  round  up  above." 

"  They  must  have  been  awful  careless  if 
they  were  surprised  in  here,"  Zeke  said;  "  half 
a  dozen  men  ought  to  hold  this  place  against 
a  hull  tribe  of  redskins." 

"  That  is  so,"  Boston  Joe  agreed,  "  but  the 
greasers  are  mighty  bad  watchmen,  and  no 


66  THE  GOLDEN   CARON. 

doubt  they  thought  they  were  safe  in  here. 
That  Indian  village  could  not  have  been  over 
on  the  hill  opposite  then,  or  it  would  have 
been  put  down  on  the  map." 

*'  Like  enough  they  had  been  followed," 
Dave  said.  "  If  a  redskin  had  caught  sight 
of  them,  he  might  have  followed  on  their  trail 
for  weeks,  till  he  found  where  they  were 
going,  and  then  made  of?  to  bring  his  tribe 
down  on  them.  It  may  be  that  one  has  been 
hanging  behind  us  just  in  the  same  way." 

"  It  is  a  very  unpleasant  idea,"  Tom  said. 

"  The  redskins'  ways  aint  pleasant,"  Dave 
said.  "  Well,  let  us  be  moving  up.  The  first 
thing  we  have  got  to  look  for  aint  gold. 
There  is  no  doubt  about  that  being  here 
somewhere.  What  we  have  got  to  look  for  is 
if  there  is  any  way  out  of  this  hole,  because  it 
is  a  regular  trap,  and  if  we  were  caught  here 
we  might  hold  the  gorge  for  a  long  time,  but 
they  would  have  us  at  last  certain;  besides, 
they  could  shoot  us  down  from  the  top." 

They  proceeded  a  few  hundred  yards  up  the 
valley,    and    then    stopped    suddenly   on   a 


THE  TREE  ON  THE   PEAK.  67 

cleared  space  of  ground.  In  the  center  lay  a 
score  cf  skeletons,  some  separately,  some  in 
groups  of  twos  and  threes.  The  remnants  of 
the  rags  that  still  hung  on  them  showed  that 
they  had  been  Mexicans.  The  two  lads  felt 
a  thrill  of  horror  at  this  proof  of  the  fate  that 
had  befallen  their  predecessors. 

"  Wall,"  Zeke  exclaimed,  "  that  was  some- 
thing like  a  surprise;  there  aint  no  sign  they 
made  a  fight  of  it;  they  were  just  caught  in 
their  sleep,  and  never  even  gathered  for  re- 
sistance. Well,  well,  what  fools  men  are  to 
be  sure.  I  shouldn't  have  believed  as  even 
Mexicans  would  have  been  such  fools  as  to 
sleep  here  without  putting  a  guard  at  the  en- 
trance. I  reckon  the  redskins  must  have 
come  down  from  above  somewhere,  and  so 
caught  them  unawares.  Well,  let  us  be  mov- 
ing on." 


CHAPTER  X. 

WATCHED. 

A  LITTLE  higher  up  the  valley  narrowed 
again,  the  sides  came  closer  and  closer,  until 
they  closed  in  abruptly  in  a  rounded  precipice, 
down  which  in  the  wet  season  it  was  evident 
that  a  waterfall  leaped  from  a  height  above. 

"  They  didn't  come  down  here,"  Dave  said. 
*'  If  it  were  anywhere  it  was  near  where  the  at- 
tack was  made;  the  sides  slope  away  a  bit 
there.  Now  keep  your  eyes  skinned,  and  see 
if  you  can  make  out  any  place  where  a  man 
might  climb  up  or  down.  Our  lives  may  de- 
pend on  it." 

Just  as  they  reached  the  old  encampment 
Dick  said,  "  Look,  Dave,  there  is  a  ledge  run- 
ning up  behind  that  bush;  it  seems  to  me  that 
it  joins  another  ledge  halfway  up.  Tom  and 
I  are  accustomed  to  climbing;  we  will  go  up  a 
bit  and  see  if  it  goes  anywhere." 


WATCHED.  6g 

The  two  lads  stopped  as  they  got  behind 
the  bush. 

"  It  looks  like  a  path  here,  Dave;  it  has  cer- 
tainly been  trodden." 

The  miners  came  to  the  spot. 

"  You  are  right,"  Dave  said;  "  it  is  a  path, 
sure  enough.  Animals  of  some  sort  come  up 
and  down — bears,  I  should  say;  maybe  goats, 
and  lots  of  them,  like  enough;  it  is  the  only 
way  they  can  get  dov;n  from  the  top  into  the 
valley,  and  they  come  down  to  drink." 

The  ridge  was  wider  than  it  looked,  being, 
where  it  started,  fully  two  feet  across.  The 
boys  at  once  set  off  up  it;  as  Dick  liad  sup- 
posed, it  met  another  ledge  running  along 
halfway  up  the  face  of  the  hill.  From  below 
this  ledge  seemed  a  mere  line,  but  it  was  really 
two  feet  wide  in  most  places,  and  even  at  the 
narrowest  was  not  less  than  a  foot.  Two 
hundred  yards  along,  another  ascent  was  met 
with,  and  after  half  an  hour's  climbing  they 
found  themselves  on  a  level  plateau,  from 
which  they  could  see  across  to  the  three  peaks. 
Ihe   path   was    everywhere    worn    smooth, 


yO  THE  GOLDEN   CANON. 

showing  that  it  had  been  used  for  ages  by  ani- 
mals of  some  kind. 

"  One  would  almost  think  it  had  been  cut 
by  hand,"  Dick  said;  "who  would  have 
thought  from  below  that  there  was  such  a  way 
as  this  out  of  the  valley?  The  best  of  it  is, 
that  it  is  good  enough  for  the  horses  to  get 
up  as  well  as  us.  Well,  thank  goodness,  we 
have  found  a  back  door  to  that  place.  It  was 
not  a  pleasant  idea  that  we  might  be  shut  up 
there  with  the  option  of  being  either  shot  or 
starved." 

"  They  would  take  some  time  to  starve  us, 
Dick;  nine  horses  would  last  us  for  a  long 
time." 

"  Yes,  but  it  would  come  sooner  or  later, 
Tom.  Anyhow,  I  shall  feel  a  great  deal  more 
comfortable  now  I  know  that  there  is  a  way 
out." 

"  But  the  Indians  know  of  it  too,  Dick,  if, 
as  Dave  thinks,  they  came  down  this  way  to 
attack  the  Mexicans." 

"  Yes,  that  is  not  such  a  comfortable  idea." 

**  Well,  lads,  what  do  you  make  of  it? " 


WATCHED.  71 

Dave  shouted  to  them  as  they  approached  the 
bottom. 

"We  have  been  right  up  to  the  top;  the 
ponies  could  go  anywhere.  It  is  narrow  in 
places,  but  we  have  passed  many  worse  on  the 
way;  the  cliffs  never  close  up,  so  even  at  the 
worst  places  there  is  room  for  them  to  get 
along  with  their  loads." 

"  What  is  it  like  at  the  top?  " 

"  Level  ground  along  to  the  drop  of  the 
cliffs,  hills  behind  it  to  the  south." 

"  Well,  it  is  a  comfort  there  is  a  way  down 
into  the  valley.  Anyhow,  since  you  have 
been  gone,  we  have  been  fossicking  about, 
and  there  is  no  doubt  about  the  gold;  it  is  the 
richest  place  any  of  us  have  ever  seed." 

"  Have  you  found  water,  Dave?  " 

"  No,  that  is  the  one  thing  bad,  we  shall 
have  to  go  out  to  fetch  water,  but  maybe  if  we 
dig  in  the  center  of  the  channel  we  shall  find 
it.  The  best  place  to  try  will  be  at  the  end, 
right  under  where  the  waterfall  comes  down 
in  winter.  There  is  most  always  a  deep  hole 
in  the  rock  there,  where  the  water  and  stones 


( 


( 


72  THE  GOLDEN  CANON. 

and  so  on  have  come  down  and  pounded 
away  the  bed  rock.  We  found  where  the 
gold  comes  from  too.  There  is  a  big  quartz 
vein  running  right  up  the  face  of  the  chff 
there;  it  is  just  full  of  gold.  You  can  see  it 
sparkle  everywhere.  Some  day,  when  the  In- 
dians is  all  wiped  out,  fellows  will  bring  ma- 
chinery and  powder,  and  will  have  one  of  the 
richest  mines  in  the  world.  However,  that 
don't  concern  us.  I  reckon  there  is  enough 
in  this  gravel  under  our  feet  to  make  a  hun- 
dred men  rich.  Now,  Boston,  what  do  you 
think  is  the  best  thing  to  do  first?  " 

"  See  if  we  can  get  water,  Dave.  If  we 
were  shut  up  here  without  water  they  would 
have  us  in  twelve  hours,  so  we  have  got  to  get 
enough  for  ourselves  and  the  horses  to  drink 
if  we  can,  even  if  ^ye  have  to  fetch  up  what  we 
want  for  the  gravel.  When  we  have  got 
water,  the  next  job  will  be  to  make  a  cradle; 
there  are  plenty  of  trees  here,  and  we  have  got 
our  hatchets,  and  we  have  brought  the  zinc 
screens,  so  we  have  got  everything  we  want. 
I  don't  say  we  mightn't  pick  up  a  lot  in  nug- 


WATCHED.  ^3 

gets.  I  have  got  a  dozen  already,  making,  I 
should  say,  over  an  ounce  betv/een  them. 
Still,  the  others  is  the  real  thing  to  depend 


on. 


"  And  there  is  another  thing,  Dave,"  Zeke 
put  in ;  "  we  must  have  a  watch.  We  had  in- 
tended that,  but  we  thought  we  should  have 
only  one  place  to  watch  ;  now  we  have  found 
this  track  up  the  hill  we  have  two." 

"  That  is  so,  Dave,  though  it  is  pretty  hard 
on  us  having  two  out  of  five  idle.  Still,  we 
have  got  a  lesson  there,"  Boston  said,  point- 
ing to  the  spot  where  they  had  found  the 
skeletons. 

"Aye,  aye,  it  has  got  to  be  done/'  Dave 
said.  "  Well,  lads,  will  you  take  the  watch 
to-day,  one  above  and  one  at  the  mouth,  and 
we  will  set  to  work  at  the  water  hole?  " 

"  We  will  toss  up  which  goes  up  the  hill 
again,  Dick.     You  spin.     Heads;  tails  it  is." 

"  Then  I  will  choose  the  mouth  here.  You 
go  up  to  the  mouth's  head." 

"  Don't  you  be  walking  about  when  you 
get  to  the  top,"   Dave  said.     "Find  some 


74  THE  GOLDEN  CANON. 

place  where  you  get  a  clear  view  all  round, 
and  then  lie  down.  Choose  a  bit  of  shade,  if 
you  can  find  it.  When  we  knock  off  work 
and  have  had  a  bit  of  grub,  I  will  come  up 
and  take  your  place." 

It  was  just  getting  dusk  when  Dave  came 
up  and  relieved  Dick. 

"  Are  you  going  to  stay  here  all  night, 
Dick?" 

"  Yes,  we  have  agreed  I  shall  keep  watch 
here  to-night,  Boston  to-morrow  night,  and 
then  I  go  on  again.  Zeke  will  take  the  watch 
below  regular;  he  sleeps  like  a  dog,  and  the 
least  noise  in  the  w^orld  will  wake  him,  so  he 
will  do  very  well.  Can  you  make  out  the  In- 
dian village  across  there  from  here?  " 

"  Yes,  quite  plainly." 

"  You  have  not  been  using  your  glass,  I 
hope,"  Dave  said  in  alarm. 

"  No,  I  forgot  to  bring  it  up  with  me.  But 
why  shouldn't  I?" 

"  Because  if  the  sun  were  to  flash  on  the 
glass  or  brasswork,  it  would  be  sartin  to  catch 
the  eye  of  someone  in  the  village,  and  if  it  did 


WATCHED.  75 

you  may  be  sure  they  would  send  up  to  see 
what  it  was.  Still,  if  you  can  make  out  the 
village,  it  will  save  us  the  need  for  keeping 
watch  in  the  daytime  down  below.  It  is  from 
there  we  have  got  to  expect  an  attack  the 
most,  and  if  you  saw  them  moving  out  strong, 
you  could  shout  down  to  us  and  we  should  be 
ready  for  them.  At  night,  in  course,  we  must 
watch  both  places,  for  there  mxay  be,  for  any- 
thing we  know,  a  big  village  half  a  mile  from 
here,  and  the  attack  might  come  from  one 
way  or  the  other.  I  expect  you  would  rather 
work  than  watch,  Dick;  so  you  had  better 
arrange  to  change  places  with  Tom  in  the 
middle  of  the  day,  then  you  can  each  work 
half  a  day.  You  will  find  that  plenty,  I 
warrant." 
^-^      "  Did  you  find  water,  Dave?  " 

"  Yes,  plenty  of  it,  enough  for  the  horses 
and  the  washing  too." 


CHAPTER  XI. 

HARD    AT    WORK. 

Tom  took  the  first  watch  in  the  morning. 
Dicl<  rendered  all  the  assistance  he  could  to 
the  men,  who  cut  down  a  couple  of  the  trees 
that  stood  in  the  gorge,  chopped  them  into 
eight-feet  lengths,  and  then  with  wedges  split 
them  into  boards,  which  they  smoothed  up 
with  an  adze.  All  were  accustomed  to  the 
work,  and  by  nightfall  a  deep  trough  was  con- 
structed, resting  upon  rockers  like  a  cradle. 

Next  morning  the  work  began;  two  men 
threw  the  gravel  and  sand  into  the  cradle,  the 
third  kept  it  in  motion,  while  whichever  of  the 
boys  was  of¥  watch  brought  water  in  two  of 
the  pails  from  the  hole. 

The  horses  were  no  trouble,  finding  plenty 
of  coarse  grass  among  the  rocks,  and  only  re- 
quiring watering  night  and  morning.     Thrice 

76 


HARD  AT  WORK.  TJ 

a  day  the  contents  of  the  cradle  were  cleared 
entirely  out,  and  the  gold  that  had  sunk  to  the 
bottom  collected.  Much  of  it  was  in  fine 
dust,  but  there  was  also  a  large  number  of 
nuggets,  varying  in  size  from  a  pea  to  a 
marble.  Each  clear-up  they  obtained  on  an 
average  eight  or  nine  pounds  of  gold. 

The  fourth  day  Tom  had  come  down  from 
above  at  twelve  o'clock,  and  found  that  the 
men  had  only  just  finished  the  clear-up,  and 
had  sat  down  to  have  some  food. 

Having  nothing  to  do,  he  strolled  away  to 
the  spot  where  the  Mexicans  had  been  mas- 
sacred, a  short  distance  away,  on  some 
ground  at  the  side  of  the  valley.  Some  three 
or  four  feet  above  the  ground  level  of  the  bot- 
tom he  saw  a  charred  stump  of  a  pole  sticking 
up;  he  went  across  to  it. 

"  I  suppose  this  is  where  the  leader  of  the 
party  had  a  tent  or  rough  hut,"  he  said. 

He  was  confirmed  in  the  belief  by  a  number 
of  bits  of  charred  wood  lying  round  the  pole. 

"  It  was  sort  of  arbor,  I  suppose,"  he 
said  to  himself. 


78  THE   GOLDEN   CANON. 

There  were  several  relics  lying  about:  two 
boots  shriveled  by  fire,  a  tin  cup  flattened  by 
some  weight  that  had  fallen  on  it,  a  pistol  with 
its  stock  blackened  by  fire.  He  called  the 
men  to  the  spot. 

"  Yes,  like  enough  it  is  as  you  say,  Dick, 
but  it  is  scarcely  worth  getting  up  to  look 
at." 

"  No,  there  is  not  much  to  look  at,  Dave, 
but  you  have  been  wondering  ever  since  you 
came  that  you  had  not  come  upon  any  of  the 
gold  they  must  have  gathered,  and  you  said 
you  didn't  believe  the  Indians  had  taken  it 
away.  Now  if  this  was  the  hut  of  the  leader 
of  the  party,  it  struck  me  that  it  would  most 
likely  be  kept  here,  and  that  it  may  be  buried 
somewhere  under  this  circle  of  ashes." 

"  Tom  is  right,  mates,"  Dave  said,  "  that  is 
just  where  the  gold  would  be  kept,  and  there 
aint  much  doubt  that  they  would  bury  it  as 
they  got  it,  so  as  to  prevent  anyone  from  tak- 
ing any  of  it  till  it  was  divided  up.  Let  us 
fetch  our  picks,  Boston,  and  we  will  soon  see 
if  it  is  here.     Let  us  try  round  the  post  first," 


HARD   AT  WORK.  79 

he  went  on,  when  the  three  men  fetched  their 
picks;  "  it  will  be  either  close  to  the  middle  of 
the  hut,  or  else  on  one  side  under  where  he 
made  his  bed." 

The  ground  was  sand,  which  had  been 
washed  up  by  an  eddy  in  one  of  the  floods, 
and  they  had  struck  but  three  or  four  blows 
with  the  pick,  when  Dave  exclaimed: 
"  Here  is  something,  boys!  " 
They  had  brought  a  shovel  with  them,  and 
throwing  aside  the  sand,  they  saw  a  piece 
of  leather. 

*'  It  is  a  bag,"  Joe  said;  "  this  is  their  hoard, 
sure  enough." 

Going  down  on  their  hands  and  knees,  they 
pulled  up  bag  after  bag,  each  about  fifty 
pounds  in  weight,  until  they  had  a  pile  on  the 
surface  of  eight  bags. 

"  Eureka!  "  Dave  exclaimed,  as  he  lifted 
the  last  bag  out  of  the  hole.  "  They  had 
made  something  like  a  pile;  no  doubt  they 
were  a  strong  party,  but  even  with  that  they 
must  have  been  here  a  couple  of  months  to 
have  got  this  lot  together.     Well,  Boston," 


80  THE   GOLDE>N  CA5J0N. 

and  he  held  out  his  hand,  "  we  can  go  east 
again;  we  have  struck  it  rich  at  last." 

"  You  bet,"  Joe  said  briefly. 

"  How  much  is  it?  "  Dick  asked. 

"  Each  of  them  bags  weighs  about  fifty 
pounds,  Dick." 

Dick  looked  incredulous,  and  stooped  to 
pick  up  one  of  the  bags,  and  was  astonished  at 
its  weight. 

"  Fifty  pounds  if  it  weighs  an  ounce,  and 
there  are  eight  of  them — four  hundred 
pounds  of  gold;  think  of  that,  lad;  that  is 
pretty  nigh  eighty  pounds  apiece.  I  aint 
good  at  reckoning,  but  put  it  rough  at  two 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  pound,  that  is 
somewhere  like  two  hundred  thousand  dollars 
each." 

"Forty  thousand  pounds!"  Dick  ex- 
claimed; "  it  does  not  seem  possible." 

"  We  aint  got  it  to  the  settlements  yet," 
Zeke  said  quietly;  "  them  chaps  had  it,  and 
they  lost  it.  Don't  let  us  figure  it  up  much 
till  we  get  beyond  the  sound  of  the  Apache 
war-whoop." 


HARD  AT  WORK.  8l 

"  Well,  I  will  go  on  watch  at  the  mouth," 
Dick  said,  "  and  then  you  can  talk  things  oven 
together." 

"  Do,  Dick;  there  is  a  lot  more  to  look  after 
than  there  was  before,  and  it  makes  one  feel 
one  can't  be  too  careful.  Anyhow  we  won't 
stay  a  day  longer  in  this  place.  We  will  be 
off  to-night." 

Dick  went  nearly  dovv^n  to  the  mouth  of  the 
narrow  gorge.  He  had  expected  they  would 
find  a  treasure,  and  although  this  far  exceeded 
his  anticipations,  he  did  not  feel  the  excite- 
ment the  men  had  shown  at  the  discovery  of 
the  treasure.  He  sat  down  on  a  rock,  and 
amused  himself  with  the  thought  of  the  won- 
der there  would  be  at  home.  Suddenly  he 
heard  the  sound  of  a  horse's  hoof,  and  grasp- 
ing his  rifle,  stooped  down  behind  a  fallen 
rock.  A  moment  later  a  mounted  Indian 
dashed  past  the  mouth  of  the  rift.  He  was 
scarce  twenty  yards  away,  but  Dick  noticed 
the  eagle  feathers  of  his  head-dress,  the  rifle 
slung  across  his  shoulder,  and  the  leggings 
decorated  with  tufts  of  hair.     It  was  but  a 


82  THE   GOLDEN   CAfJON. 

moment,  and  then  he  was  gone.  Dick  waited 
a  minute  or  two,  and  then  ran  in  to  tell  the 
miners.  They  uttered  an  exclamation  of 
alarm. 

"  He  went  right  on,"  Dick  said.  "  He 
didn't  check  the  speed  of  his  horse  or  glance 
my  way." 

"  That  is  no  sign,"  Zeke  said.  "  The 
chances  are  that  fellow  has  happened  on  our 
trail  maybe  a  mile,  maybe  fifty,  back  and  he 
has  just  been  following  it.  Why  should  he  be 
riding  so  close  to  the  cliffs  if  he  was  not  track- 
ing us?  " 

"  But  he  didn't  look  in,"  Dick  persisted. 

"  He  warn't  such  a  fool,  lad.  He  knew 
well  enough  that  if  he  glanced  round,  and 
there  was  anyone  on  watch  there,  he  would 
have  a  bullet  through  him  sartin." 

"  What  shall  we  do?  Shall  we  saddle  up  at 
once,  Dave?  "  Boston  Joe  asked. 

"  We  may  as  well  pack  the  horses  anyhow, 
Boston,  but  we  can't  go  till  it  is  dark.  If  a 
party  like  ours  were  to  show  up  there,  they 
would  see  us  from  the  village  sure.     Do  you 


HARD  AT  WORK.  83 

run  up,  Dick,  and  keep  a  lookout  with  Tom, 
at  the  village.  You  can  crawl  along,  if  you 
like,  nearer  to  the  edge,  and  make  out  if  that 
fellow  is  riding  there.  If  you  see  him  go 
there  come  down  with  the  news,  and  tell  Tom 
to  hurry  down  as  quick  as  he  can  if  he  sees  a 
party  setting  out.  We  will  have  the  horses 
saddled  up  by  the  time  you  are  down  again." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

RETREAT. 

Dick  sprang  up  the  hill,  and,  as  soon  as  he 
joined  Tom,  astonished  him  with  the  account 
of  the  discovery  of  the  treasure  collected  by 
the  other  party,  and  also  by  the  news  that  it 
was  probable  that  the  Indians  would  be 
speedily  upon  them.  All  this  he  told  him  as 
he  was  crawling  forward  towards  the  edge  of 
the  cliff. 

"There  he  goes!"  he  exclaimed,  when 
they  neared  it.  "  Do  you  see  him  going  up 
the  slope  toward  the  village?  How  clear 
the  air  is.  Dave  says  it  is  six  miles  there  if  it 
is  a  foot;  it  does  not  look  more  than  one. 

"  Well,  I  must  go  and  tell  them  below. 
Mind,  Tom,  the  moment  you  see  a  party  issue 
out  from  there  you  crawl  back  to  the  path, 


RETREAT.  85 

and  then  hurry  down  as  quick  as  you  can,  but 
mind  you  don't  tumble  in  your  haste." 

"  That  settles  it,"  Dave  said,  when  he  heard 
the  news.  "  If  he  had  been  going  to  that  vil- 
lage he  would  have  made  for  it  straight,  and 
not  come  along  under  the  cliffs  until  he  was 
opposite  to  it.  No;  we  have  got  to  fight, 
that's  sartin." 

"  If  we  were  to  mount  that  path  at  once, 
Dave,  we  could  keep  them  from  climbing  up 
if  therb  were  hundreds  of  them." 

"  That  is  so,  lad,  but  we  could  not  stay 
there  forever,  and  might  be  took  in  the  rear 
by  another  party.  Besides,  as  soon  as  they 
find  out  that  we  have  left — they  will  do  that 
pretty  soon — they  will  be  straight  after  us. 
No,  we  have  been  talking  it  over  while  you 
have  been  away,  and  we  have  agreed  that  we 
must  hold  the  Caiion  until  it  gets  dark,  and 
then  make  off.  No  doubt  they  know  of  this 
path,  but  they  won't  think  as  we  have  found 
it  out,  and  they  will  fancy  that  they  have  got 
us  sure.  Like  enough,  as  soon  as  they  find 
we  are  ready  for  them  here,  they  will  send  a 


86  THE  GOLDEN  CA5J0N. 

messenger  off  to  some  village  up  behind  us. 
There  is  one  thing,  he  will  have  a  good  way  to 
go  for  we  have  seen  no  break  in  the  cliffs  for 
the  last  twenty  miles,  and  maybe  they  go 
much  farther;  anyhow,  we  have  got  to 
risk  it." 

"  I  should  think,"  Dick  said,  "  that  any- 
how we  might  as  well  get  the  horses  up  to  the 
top  of  the  path,  ready  to  push  on  as  soon  as  it 
gets  dark.  They  can  do  it  easily  enough  in 
daylight,  but  it  would  be  a  very  awkward  job 
at  night." 

"  Right  you  are,  lad,  that  is  a  capital  plan. 
We  will  do  it  at  once.  We  have  got  every- 
thing wrapped  up  ready.  One  of  us  will  stay 
up  there  with  Tom  so  as  to  guard  the  top  of 
the  path,  in  case  any  of  the  redskins  should 
come  down  before  we  are  ready  to  go  for- 
ward. Three  will  be  enough  to  hold  the 
Cafion." 

"  I  will  undertake  the  horse  job,"  Boston 
Joe  said.  "  As  you  say,  three  is  enough  here. 
They  will  think  they  are  going  to  take  us  by 
surprise,  and  as  soon  as  they  find  we  are  ready 


RETREAT.  87 

for  them  they  will  draw  off  fast  enough.  I 
reckon  that  fellow  has  counted  our  numbers, 
and  no  redskin  will  try  to  force  that  pass 
with  five  Western  rifles  facing  him." 

Just  as  Joe  began  to  mount  the  path,  lead- 
ing his  horse,  with  the  others  tied  head  to  tail 
in  a  long  line  behind  it,  Tom  appeared  on  the 
path  high  up  and  shouted: 

"Thirty  or  forty  horsemen  have  just  left 
the  village,  and  are  coming  this  way." 

"All  right,  Tom,"  Dick  shouted  back. 
"  You  are  not  to  come  down.  Joe  is  coming 
up  with  the  horses." 

"  We  have  got  plenty  of  time  yet,"  Dave 
said,  as  soon  as  the  string  of  horses  had 
started  on  their  way  up;  "it  aint  much  past 
two  o'clock  yet,  and  it  will  be  pretty  nigh  six 
hours  afore  we  can  make  a  start.  There  is  a 
good  fire,  and  we  have  kept  down  thirty 
pounds  of  flour;  we  shall  have  time  to  bake 
that  into  bread  before  we  start.  We  shan't 
have  much  time  for  baking  when  we  are  once 
off,  you  can  bet  your  boots." 

Dick  looked  on  with  some  wonder  at  the 


88  THE  GOLDEN  CANON. 

quiet  and  deliberate  manner  in  which  Dave 
mixed  his  dough. 

"  By  the  way,  Dick,"  the  latter  said,  look- 
ing up,  "  we  have  divided  that  lot  of  gold  we 
got  here  ourselves  into  five  lots,  and  put  one 
lot  into  the  blankets  on  each  of  our  riding 
horses;  it  is  like  enough  that  if  we  carry  our 
own  scalps  back  to  the  Settlements  we  shan't 
get  any  of  the  four  baggage  ponies  there  with 
us.  There  is  about  twelve  pound  of  gold  in 
each  blanket,  so  suppose  we  have  to  let  the 
other  ponies  go,  we  shan't  have  made  a  bad 
job  out  of  our  journey  after  all." 

"  Have  you  filled  the  water-skins,  Dave?  " 
"We  filled  the  five  small  skins  we  carry  our- 
selves, and  one  of  the  others  we  daren't  carry. 
Each  of  the  horses  has  got  two  sacks  of  gold, 
one  of  them  has  got  the  water-skin,  two 
others  have  got  twenty  pounds  of  flour  each, 
which  will  be  enough  to  last  us  with  the  loaf 
we  are  baking  here  till  we  get  out  of  the  In- 
dian country;  the  others  have  got  the  tea  and 
sugar.  The  one  with  the  skin  will  be  the 
heaviest  load  at  first;  but  the  water  will  soon 


RETREAT.  89 

go,  SO  that  makes  it  even.  Everything  else 
we  have  got  to  leave  behind,  except  a  kettle 
and  this  baking  pan.  We  will  take  them  up 
as  we  go.  Now  that  the  loaf  is  fairly  under 
way,  we  will  get  ready  for  the  redskins." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE   REDSKIN. 

They  took  their  post  behind  some  rocks  in 
front  of  them.  The  bottom  was  composed  of 
sand  and  gravel,  the  only  rock  being  that  be- 
hind which  Dick  had  crouched,  close  to  the 
entrance. 

"  Mind,  we  mustn't  all  fire  at  once,"  Dave 
said;  "one  must  always  be  loading,  and  we 
will  take  it  in  turns  to  fire.  Of  course,  if  they 
make  a  rush  we  must  take  to  our  six-shooters; 
but  they  aint  likely  to  do  that.  I  will  fire 
first,  Zeke,  you  follow  me;  I  reckon  they  aint 
likely  to  miss  either  of  us." 

Another  quarter  of  an  hour  passed,  and 
then  suddenly  a  mounted  Indian  appeared  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Canon.  He  checked  his 
horse  and  sat  gazing  up  it.  Dave's  rifle 
cracked,  and  the  Indian  fell  backward  from 


THE  REDSKIN.  91 

his  saddle;  and  a  sudden  yell  of  anger  and  sur- 
prise rose  outside.  Another  moment  and  a 
dozen    figures    appeared    at    the    entrance. 

Zeke  fired. 

"  Now,  Dick!  "  Dave  said  a  moment  later, 
and  the  lad,  whose  rifle  was  resting  on  the 
rock  in  front  of  him.,  pulled  his  trigger,  and 
almost  immediately  Dave  fired  again.  An- 
other moment  and  the  mouth  of  the  Cafion 
was  clear.  Another  Indian  lay  by  the  side  of 
the  first  who  had  fallen. 

"  I  reckon  all  the  shots  told,"  Dave  said; 
"we  could  hardly  miss  that  clump.  Now  I 
don't  think  you  will  see  any  more  of  them; 
they  know  we  are  here  and  they  know  we  are 
ready  for  theni,  and  it  aint  in  Indian  nature  to 
throw  away  their  lives  charging  up  a  place 
like  this.  They  had  reckoned  the  five  first 
would  go  down  anyhow.  Then  they  will 
guess  that  we  have  got  pistols,  and  the  red- 
skins hate  six-shooters  like  poison." 

The  time  passed  slowly,  but  the  quiet  in  the 
Cafion  remained  undisturbed. 

"  I  expect  it  is  as  I  said,  Zeke;  they  won't 


92  THE   GOLDEN  CANON. 

attack  again  by  daylight,  though  I  don't  say 
as  they  won't  try  and  crawl  up  when  it  gets 
dark,  but  I  don't  think  as  they  will.  If  there 
is  a  village  up  in  the  hill  behind  us  they  will 
send  round  to  it,  and  wait  here  till  they  hear 
a  fight  begin  inside.  If  there  aint  no  village, 
half  of  them  will  ride  round  to  come  down  on 
us.  Hov;ever,  they  won't  set  about  that  at 
once.  Injuns  are  never  in  a  hurry,  and  they 
think  that  they  have  got  us  safe  in  here  and 
can  take  things  easy.  If  it  is  a  long  way 
round  and  they  aint  quite  sure  of  the  path, 
like  enough  they  won't  start  until  they  calcu- 
late they  will  get  there  at  daybreak,  when  they 
will  guess  that  we  shall  be  all  pretty  well  worn 
out  with  keeping  watch  here." 

"  I  guess  that  is  about  it,  Dave.  Anyhow, 
we  can  push  out  as  soon  as  it  begins  to  get 
too  dark  for  them  to  see  us  from  the  village 
across  there — that  is,  as  soon  as  the  sun  has 
gone  down  behind  the  hills  to  the  south." 

Dave  had  from  time  to  time  left  his  post    " 
and  gone  to  keep  up  the  fire  and  to  put  a  fresh 
batch  of  dough  in  the  pan,  and  as  soon  as  a 


THE   REDSKIN.  93 

shadow  fell  across  the  valley  he  said,  "  Now 
we  will  be  off.  I  reckon  there  is  no  fear  of 
the  redskins  getting  round  for  a  time;  but  I 
tell  you  that  gold  makes  one  mighty  fidgety." 

Six  loaves  had  been  baked,  and  each  taking 
two,  while  Dave,  in  addition,  took  the  pan 
and  kettle,  they  mounted  the  path.  When 
they  reached  the  tail  of  the  string  of  horses 
Dave  hailed  Boston  Joe,  and  a  moment  later 
the  miner's  head  appeared  on  the  edge  of  the 
cliff  above  them. 

"  Is  it  all  clear?  " 

"  Aye.  I  have  seen  nothing  of  them — 
ne'er  a  thing  moving." 

"  Well,  we  will  go  at  once,  Joe.  Even  a 
redskin's  eyes  could  not  make  us  out  from 
that  village  now." 

The  horses  were  at  once  set  in  motion.  As 
soon  as  they  had  left  the  path  the  cords  were 
unfastened,  and  the  five  mounted. 

"  Which  way,  Dave?  "  Boston  Joe  asked. 

"We  had  better  make  west.  It  is  lucky 
we  shall  have  the  moon,  for  there  is  no  travel- 
ing over  the  hills  in  the  dark  if  you  don't 


94  THE   GOLDEN   CANON. 

know  the  way.  Anyhow,  we  will  make 
straight  back  at  present,  or  we  may  come 
upon  those  fellows  riding  round.  We  will  go 
in  Indian  file.  I  will  go  first,  with  a  pony 
tied  to  mine.  The  two  lads  will  follow,  then 
either  you,  Zeke,  or  Joe,  can  take  the  last 
pony,  and  the  other  one  ride  in  the  rear,  so 
that  you  can  keep  us  well  in  sight,  and  yet  be 
far  enough  off  to  use  your  ears." 

For  an  hour  they  continued  their  course 
south,  the  ground  rising  as  they  went.  Then 
they  reached  a  dip  running  west. 

"We  will  follow  this,"  Dave  said;  "it  is 
the  right  direction  anyhow,  and  it  is  as  likely 
to  take  us  down  into  the  valleys  again  in 
time." 

As  they  proceeded,  the  dip  became  more 
decided,  and  after  two  hours'  riding  the  sides 
narrowed  in. 

"  We  shall  strike  a  water-course  soon," 
Dave  said,  turning' round  to  speak  to  Tom, 
who  was  riding  next  to  him.  "  The  water 
that  falls  here  has  got  to  make  its  way  out 
somewhere,  and  this  is  the  only  way  as  it  can 


THE   REDSKIN.  95 

go.  Not  that  there  is  much  Vv^ater,  for  it  is 
often  months  without  rain." 

Presently  they  found  that  the  ground  was 
covered  with  pebbles. 

"  There  is  the  water-course,  you  see,"  Dave 
said. 

The  fall  became  steeper  and  steeper,  and 
the  ground  more  stony;  low  trees  and  bushes 
rose  on  the  slopes  on  either  side. 

"We  had  best  dismount  here,"  Dave  said; 
"  it  is  growing  mighty  steep,  and  we  may 
come  upon  a  sudden  fall  anywhere,  and  it  is 
mighty  difificult  to  judge  about  depth  in  the 
moonlight." 

The  lads  were  heartily  glad  at  the  order,  for 
they  had  for  some  time  been  momentarily  ex- 
pecting that  their  horses  would  come  down 
over  the  bowlders. 

"  I  will  go  twenty  yards  ahead,"  Dave  said. 
"  You  had  better  loose  the  baggage-ponies 
and  let  them  pick  their  own  way.  Throw 
your  bridles  on  your  horses'  necks:  they  will 
go  a  deal  safer  so  than  if  you  were  leading 
them;  the  critters  can  pick  their  way  any- 


96  THE   GOLDEN  CANON. 

where  if  they  have  got  time  and  can  loolc 
about." 

Luckily  the  moon  was  still  high  and  shot 
full  down  upon  the  path  they  were  traveling. 
Even  on  foot  the  lads  found  it  difficult  to 
make  their  way  down.  Sometimes  they  had 
to  climb  over  heaps  of  bowlders,  sometimes  to 
slide  down  smooth  faces  of  rock  so  steep  that 
they  could  not  keep  their  feet  upon  them,  and 
often  it  seemed  so  perilous  that  they  would 
have  hesitated  to  attempt  it  had  they  not  seen 
that  Dave  v^th  his  two  horses  kept  steadily, 
on  below  them. 


.M 


'^'  CHAPTER  XIV. 

IN   THE   RAVINE. 

The  lads  were  surprised  at  the  way  their 
own  horses  followed,  sliding  on  their  haunches 
down  the  steepest  places  and  picking  their 
way  among  rocks  and  bowlders.  Six  hours 
after  starting  they  found  themselves  in  a  deep 
ravine,  whose  sides  were  covered  with  trees. 
They  had  now  lost  the  moon,  and  it  was  far 
too  dark  for  them  to  progress  further. 

"  We  will  give  them  four  hours'  rest,"  Dave 
said;  "that  long  halt  on  the  path  vv^as  worse 
than  traveling.  We  shall  go  three  times  as 
fast  when  we  get  light  to  help  us  as  in  the 
dark;  besides,  we  have  got  to  look  for  some 
place  where  we  can  double  on  them.  We 
shan't  find  that  till  we  are  out  of  this  valley. 
We  shall  have  to  be  pretty  spry  if  we  are  going 
to  get  away  from  them;  they  will  come  along 
fast  when  they  once  take  up  the  trail.     It  ha^Sr 

97 


98  THE   GOLDEN   CANON. 

taken  us  six  hours  to  get  down  here;  it  won't 
take  them  three.  Well,  I  hope  we  shall  get  on 
the  move  an  hour  or  two  before  they  do.  If 
they  wait  until  daylight  before  advancing  there 
will  be  a  lot  of  hubbub  and  talk  before  they 
really  make  up  their  minds  that  we  have  really 
slipped  through  their  fingers,  and  arrange  for 
a  start.  Still,  by  midday  we  shall  be  having 
them  behind  us  if  we  can't  find  the  way  to 
throw  them  off." 

"  I'd  willingly  take  twenty  ounces  for  my 
share  of  that  gold,  to  be  paid  to  me  at  Santa 
Fe,"  Boston  Joe  said. 

"  So  would  I,  Joe;  there  aint  no  denying  it, 
we  are  in  a  tight  place,  and  unless  we  find  some 
way  out  of  it  in  the  morning,  my  own  opinion 
is  that  we  have  only  got  one  chance,  and  that 
is  to  leave  all  the  horses  behind  us  and  to  take 
our  rifles  and  a  loaf  of  bread  each,  and  to  start 
back  on  foot." 

"  I  should  not  wonder  if  we  came  to  that," 
Zeke  said;  "but  we  will  hold  on  for  a  few 
hours,  and,  anyhow,  before  we  leave  them  we 
will  hide  them  bags.    Possibly  we  might  come 


IN  THE   RAVINE.  99 

back  some  day;  anyhow,  we  could  each  tote 
along  what  we  have  got  in  our  blankets;  it  aint 
as  if  we  were  going  to  run  all  the  vvay  from 
here  to  the  settlements.  Twelve  pound  weight 
aint  nothing  one  way  or  the  other." 

"  No,  nor  twenty,"  Boston  agreed.  "  I  vote 
if  we  do  have  to  leave  the  horses  we  slip  open 
one  of  the  bags  and  take  another  eight  pounds 
or  so  each.  Twenty  pounds  aint  much  for  a 
man  to  carry  besides  his  gun  and  ammunition 
and  a  chunk  of  bread.  Well,  let  the  rest  of 
you  lie  down  and  get  a  couple  of  hours'  sleep. 
I  was  off  once  last  night." 

"All  right;  wake  us  directly  you  see  a 
change  in  the  sky.  We  should  give  the  horses 
a  chunk  of  bread  and  a  drink  each  before  we 
start." 

It  seemed  to  the  lads  that  they  had  been 
asleep  for  five  minutes  only  when  they  were 
roused.  It  was  but  the  work  of  a  few  minutes 
to  adjust  the  loads  again  and  to  give  the  horses 
the  bread  and  water.  It  was  still  hardly  light 
in  the  ravine  when  they  were  ready  to  start, 
but  all  were  too  anxious  to  get  on  to  delay  a 


100  THE   GOLDEN   CANON. 

moment.  As  soon  as  the  day  had  broadened 
a  little  they  were  able  to  pick  their  way  along 
on  the  comparatively  level  ground  beyond  the 
edge  of  the  water-course,  and  the  horses  were 
put  into  a  trot. 

"  If  we  can  keep  on  like  this,"  Joe  said,  "  the 
Apaches  won't  be  up  to  us  before  night.  They 
will  know  that  we. have  got  nigh  twelve  hours' 
start  of  them,  and  though  they  may  start  off 
fast  at  first,  they  will  scon  settle  down  into 
a  pace  that  they  can  keep  up  all  day." 

After  journeying  for  three  hours  they  came 
upon  the  spot  where  two  other  ravines  fell  into 
that  along  which  they  were  journeying. 

"  Let  us  hold  a  council,"  Dave  said.  "  Now, 
what  do  you  think  had  best  be  done — push 
straight  forward  or  take  one  of  these  other 
gulches  ? " 

"  They  seem  to  run  back  almost  the  same 
line  as  that  ye  have  been  following,"  Dick  said. 

"  All  the  better,  lad.  They  will  be  less  in- 
clined to  think  that  we  have  taken  it.  What 
do  you  say,  Zeke  ?  " 

I  think  we  had  better  push  straight  on. 


(( 


IN  THE   RAVINE.  lOI 

Dave.  If  they  were  coming  along  in  the  dark 
it  would  be  a  different  thing;  but  they  would 
not  go  a  horse's  length  afore  they  missed  our 
tracks,  and  even  if  we  muffle  the  critters'  feet, 
they  are  strong  enough  to  send  a  party  each 
way," 

"  So  they  are,  Zeke;  but  it  would  be  a  sight 
better  to  fight  a  third  of  them  than  the  hull 
lot." 

"  I  think  that  it  would  be  better  to  push  on, 
Dave,"  Boston  Joe  said.  "  There  aint  no  say- 
ing where  these  narrow  valleys  lead,  they  wind 
and  double  every  way;  besides,  tliey  are  dry, 
so  I  says  let  us  push  on  till  we  get  into  one  of 
the  main  valleys." 

"  Well,  we  will  do  it,  Joe;  anyhow,  we  may 
as  well  do  as  I  say  and  muffle  their  feet.  The 
Injuns  will  know  what  we  have  done  when 
they  see  the  tracks  stop  here,  but,  as  you  say, 
they  won't  know  whether  we  have  gone 
straight  on  or  turned  up  one  side  or  the  other. 
I  guess  most  likely  they  will  think  that  we  have 
turned  up;  anyhow,  they  are  sure  to  divide." 

No   further   talking   was   necessary.     The 


102  THE  GOLDEN  CANON. 

blankets  were  all  cut  up,  bunches  of  dry  grass 
were  laced  under  the  horses'  feet  to  form  a  pad, 
and  the  strips  of  blankets  wound  round  and 
round  and  securely  fastened. 

"  Now,  on  we  go  again,  lads,"  Dave  said, 
setting  the  example,  and  they  rode  straight 
down  the  ravine  ahead  of  them.  Two  hours 
later  the  blankets  were  taken  off  and  thrown 
among  the  bushes,  the  rocks  having  cut 
through  them,  they  were  useless  any  longer  to 
conceal  the  tracks,  and  they  incommoded  the 
horses.  A  mouthful  of  water  was  given  to  the 
animals,  and  they  again  started  at  a  brisk  pace. 
The  sides  of  the  valley  were  now  narrowing  in 
again,  and  becoming  much  steeper;  the  trees 
had  ceased,  and  the  bare  rock  rose  in  some 
places  almost  precipitously. 

"  The  water  rises  high  here  when  there  is 
a  storm,"  Zeke  said.  "  You  see,  it  is  pretty 
nigh  closed  up  somewhere  in  front  here." 

"  All  the  better,"  Dave  said;  "  we  can  make 
a  fight  for  it  in  a  place  like  that,  and  hold  it 
till  dark.  They  can't  be  far  behind  us  now. 
Stop  the  horses  a  moment  and  listen." 


ll\    I  HE   RAVINE.  103 

A  faint  sound  was  heard. 

"That  is  them,"  Dave  said;  "they  aint 
above  a  mile  behind;  push  on  till  we  find  a 
good  place  to  make  a  stand." 


CHAPTER   XV. 

RIFLE-SHOTS. 

Another  five  minutes  they  entered  a  gorge 
so  blocked  with  rocks  that  had  fallen  from 
above  that  they  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in 
leading  the  horses  over  them. 

"  It  could  not  be  better,"  Dave  said.  "  We 
can  stop  them  here.  Zeke,  do  you  go  on  with 
Dick,  see  how  far  this  goes,  and  what  the 
chances  are  when  we  get  out  of  it.  If  you  can 
see  any  way  of  climbing  the  side  of  the  valley 
come  back  and  tell  us.  Then  I  reckon  the  best 
thing  will  be  for  you  to  take  the  horses  down 
and  go  straight  up,  leaving  Dick  to  tell  us  ex- 
actly where  you  have  gone  up;  then,  as  soon 
as  it  is  quite  dark,  we  will  be  off  and  follow 
you ;  they  won't  be  able  to  pick  up  the  trail  and 

will  guess  we  have  gone  straight  down  the 

104 


RIFLE-SHOTS.  IO5 

valley.  Anyhow,  it  will  give  us  another 
twelve  hours'  start." 

Zeke  nodded.  "  We  may  as  well  take  the 
critters  down  at  once,"  he  said;  "it  may  be 
two  or  three  miles  before  we  can  find  a  place 
where  we  can  get  out  of  this  valley,  and  there 
aint  no  use  making  two  journeys  of  it." 

Somewhat  reluctantly  Dick  followed  Zeke, 
driving  the  horses  before  them. 

They  had  been  gone  but  five  minutes  when 
he  heard  the  crack  of  a  rifle  behind  them. 

"  Do  you  think  they  are  sure  to  be  able  to 
hold  that  place  ?  " 

"  They  are  safe  for  some  time,  anyhow,'^ 
Zeke  said.  "  As  soon  as  the  redskins  see  they 
are  brought  to  a  stand  they  will  draw  off  and 
wait  till  the  bands  that  have  gone  up  the  other 
valleys  join  them.  No  doubt,  as  soon  as  they 
had  made  out  our  tracks  again,  they  sent  a 
kipple  of  men  off  to  fetch  them  back,  but  I 
reckon  they  woiridn't  have  seen  them  till  they 
got  four  or  five  miles  down,  and  by  that  time 
the  other  bands  v/ould  have  been  as  much  far- 
ther up  the  side- valleys,  and  the  messengers 


I06  THE   GOIDEN   CAKON. 

would  have  a  long  ride  before  they  overtook 
them — ten  or  twelve  miles,  maybe — and  they 
would  have  all  that  to  come  down  again,  so 
they  would  be  pretty  well  four  hours  before 
they  had  joined  the  first  band,  and  in  four 
hours  it  will  be  dark  enough  for  Dave  to  draw 
off." 

"  There  they  go  again !  " 

Shot  after  shot  echoed  among  the  cliflfs. 
The  gorge  extended  for  another  mile,  and  then 
widened  rapidly.  A  mile  and  a  half  farther 
the  sides  were  clad  with  trees,  and  the  slope, 
although  still  steep,  was,  Zeke  said,  possible 
for  horses  to  scramble  up. 

"  They  will  go  up  there  safe  enough,"  he 
said,  "  five  of  them  with  nothing  to  carry,  and 
the  other  four  aint  heavy  loaded.  You  see 
them  two  trees  standing  alone  on  the  crest 
there?" 

"  I  see  them,  Zeke." 

"  Well,  that  is  to  be  your  mark.  You  will 
make  them  out  plainly  enough  in  the  moon- 
light. I  shall  be  just  down  beyond  them.  I 
need  not  tell  you  to  be  keerful  how  you  go 


RIFLE-SHOTS.  IO7 

when  you  get  beyond  the  shelter  of  the  trees 
below.  Dave  will  know  all  about  that.  Now 
you  can  be  off  back  again." 

Dick  started  back  at  a  run,  and  in  less  than 
half  an  hour  joined  the  other  three  among  the 
rocks. 

"  Found  a  place,  lad  ?  " 
■    "  Yes;  they  have  started  up." 

"  I  am  glad  you  are  back.  These  fellows 
look  as  if  they  were  going  to  make  an  attack  on 
us.  They  are  about  five-and-twenty  of  them, 
and  I  guess  they  know  as  well  as  we  do  that  it 
will  be  dark  before  their  friends  join  them. 
However,  I  don't  think  they  will  make  a  rush; 
they  will  lose  heart  when  three  or  four  of  their 
number  get  shot,  and  weaken  when  it  comes  to 
climbing  these  rocks  in  face  of  our  six-shoot- 
ers. Now,  do  you  two  lads  keep  below;  get 
dov/n  right  among  the  rocks,  so  that  you  can 
fire  out  through  some  hole  between  them,  and 
directly  you  have  fired  get  out  of  the  line,  for 
a  stray  bullet  might  come  in." 

Scarcely  had  the  boys  taken  their  position, 
and  looked  along  their  barrels,  when  they  saw 


Io8  THE   GOLDEN  CANON. 

a  dozen  dark  figures  spring-  up  among  the 
rocks  fifty  yards  away. 

Two  shots  were  fired  by  the  miners,  and 
two  of  the  Indians  fell  forward;  then,  one  after 
another,  the  lads  fired,  as  they  felt  sure  of  their 
aim,  while  at  the  same  moment  two  sharper 
cracks  sounded  close  to  them,  for  the  Colt  at 
forty  yards  is  as  deadly  a  weapon  as  a  rifle. 
Three  more  of  the  Indians  fell,  and  the  rest 
sank  down  behind  rocks  and  opened  fire  at  the 
position  held  by  the  whites.  These  reloaded 
rapidly. 

"  Now  keep  a  sharp  look-out,"  Dave  said, 
"  but  don't  fire  unless  they  rise  again.  Joe 
and  I  will  make  it  hot  for  them  as  they  raise 
their  heads  to  take  aim." 

The  rifles  were  fired  but  twice,  and  then  the 
fire  of  the  Indians  ceased. 

"  I  think  we  have  accounted  for  two  more," 
Joe  said.  "  We  shan't  hear  any  more  of  them. 
Seven  out  of  twenty-five  is  a  sharp  lesson,  and 
the  first  man  who  fell  was  their  chief,  I  reckon, 
and  they  will  wait  till  the  sub-chiefs  with  the 
other  bands  come  up.     Now,  the  sooner  the 


RIFLE-SHOTS.  IO9 

sun  goes  down  the  better.  There  is  one  thing, 
it  will  be  dark  down  here  an  hour  before  it  is 
on  the  hill-tops." 

*'  Why  shouldn't  we  fall  back  at  once? " 
Tom  asked. 

"  Because,  like  enough,  they  will  open  fire 
occasionally,  and  if  we  didn't  reply  they  would 
think  we  had  made  off,,  and  would  follow  us, 
and  pick  up  the  trail  where  the  horses  left  the 
valley.  We  have  got  to  wait  here  until  it  is 
too  dark  for  them  to  follow  the  trail.  The  mo- 
ment it  is  dark  enough  for  that  we  are  off." 

It  was  just  getting  dusk,  when  Dave  said, 
suddenly : 

"  There  is  one  of  the  other  bands  coming  up. 
They  are  a  good  bit  away  yet,  but  I  can  hear 
them." 

Dick  could  only  make  out  a  low,  continuous 
murmur  that  sounded  to  him  like  a  distant 
waterfall. 

"What  do  you  think,  Joe,"  Dave  said; 
"  would  it  be  safe  to  make  a  run  for  it?  We 
might  beat  off  the  first  attack,  but  some  of  us 
are  safe  either  to  get  killed  or  hurt  too  badly 


no  THE   GOLDEN   CAKON. 

to  travel.  They  will  talk  for  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  at  least  after  they  come  up,  and  by  the 
time  they  find  we  have  gone,  and  got  their 
horses  over  these  rocks,  and  got  down  to  the 
mouth  of  this  gorge,  it  will  be  too  dark  for 
them  to  follow  the  tracks." 

"  I  am  with  you,  Dave,"  Joe  said,  as  he  dis- 
charged his  rifle.  "  That  is  one  more  wiped 
out.  He  was  just  going  to  fire  to  see  whether 
we  were  here  still.  That  has  answered  the 
question;  now  let  us  be  off.  Go  as  quiet  a9 
you  can,  lads,  and  don't  make  the  slightest 
noise.  Just  creep  along  until  we  are  three  or 
four  hundred  yards  away.  You  may  be  sure 
that  they  are  listening." 

For  a  quarter  of  a  mile  they  moved  very 
cautiously. 

"  Now  I  think  we  are  safe,"  Dave  said, 
breaking  into  a  run. 

At  a  steady  trot  they  kept  on  down  the 
gorge.  Just  as  they  reached  its  mouth,  they 
heard  a  faint  yell  in  the  distance. 

"They  have  found  we  are  off.  They  will 
be  five  minutes  and  more  before  they  have 


RIFLE-SHOTS.  m 

brought  up  their  horses  and  got  over  the  rocks, 
and  they  will  go  pretty  cautious,  because  they 
will  be  expecting  to  be  ambushed.  It  is  get- 
ting pretty  dark  now;  we  shall  be  in  among 
the  trees  before  they  are  out." 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

ON   THE   RETURN. 

The  trees  began  fully  half  a  mile  above  the 
point  where  Zeke  had  made  his  way  np  with 
the  horses,  and,  running  now  at  the  top  of 
their  speed,  they  were  among  them  before  the 
Indians  issued  from  the  gorge. 

The  fugitives  went  on  at  a  slower  pace 
among  the  trees,  until  they  heard  a  war- 
whoop,  and  knew  that  the  leading  Indians  had 
passed  out. 

"  Now  throw  yourselves  down,"  Dave  said, 
"  and  just  lie  as  still  as  mice — the  slightest 
noise  would  tell  them  we  had  taken  to  the 
wood.  We  want  them  to  go  straight  on  for 
a  bit." 

In  four  or  five  minutes  they  heard  the  tramp- 
ing of  horses,  and  a  party  of  Indians  rode  down 
the  valley. 


ON  THE  RETURN.  II3 

"  There  are  over  fifty  of  them,"  Dave  whis- 
pered. "  I  expect  the  other  two  bands  must 
have  come  up  together.  Now  let  us  get  up  as 
high  as  we  can.  As  long  as  they  are  galloping 
they  won't  hear  any  little  noise  we  may  make, 
but  mind  how  you  go,  lads.  Don't  step  on  a 
twig,  don't  brush  against  any  dead  wood  that 
might  crack,  and  mind  you  don't  set  a  stone 
rolling." 

They  climbed  for  ten  minutes,  and  then 
came  to  a  spot  where  they  had  a  view  through 
the  trees  down  the  valley. 

"  There  they  are  in  a  heap  about  a  mile 
down,"  Joe  said,  and  the  boys  in  the  moonlight 
could  see  a  dark  mass  gathered  in  the  middle. 

"  They  are  having  a  talk  over  it,"  Dave  said; 
"  they  know  if  we  held  on  down  the  valley 
they  would  have  overtaken  us  by  this  time,  and 
they  know  we  have  taken  to  the  wood  one  side 
or  the  other.  I  reckon  they  won't  think  it  any 
use  searching  for  us  to-night,  but  maybe  they 
will  go  straight  on  for  a  bit.  They  won't  know 
how  long  a  start  the  horses  may  have  had,  and 
will  think  we  may  have  had  them  in  the  gorge, 


114  THE   GOLDEN  CA5J0N. 

and  liave  mounted  and  ridden  down.  Yes; 
there  they  go.  Now  we  can  move  on  again 
without  fear  of  being  heard." 

Half  an  hour  later  they  joined  Zeke,  who 
was  with  the  horses  a  hundred  yards  over  the 
crest  of  the  hill  in  a  line  with  the  two  trees. 

"No  one  hurt?"  he  asked,  as  they  ap-» 
proached. 

"  Nary  a  scratch,  Zeke.  We  have  wiped  out 
eight  of  them.  The  rest  have  just  gone  tear- 
ing dow'n  the  valley." 

"  Well,  we  had  best  be  moving  so  as  to 
get   as   far   as  we   can   before  we   lose   the 


moon." 


"  That  v/on't  be  till  within  an  hour  of  day- 
light," Zeke  said.  "  Now,  which  way  shall 
we  go?  " 

"  I  think  we  had  better  keep  along  the  hill- 
side, Zeke.  We  can  travel  fast  here,  and  can 
get  so  far  that  when  they  find  the  trail  in  the 
morning,  and  follow  us,  we  shall  be  too  far 
aw^ay  for  them  to  overtake  us  before  night- 
fall." 

So  day  after  day  they  traveled,  sometimes 


ON  THE  RETURN.  11$ 

in  deep  ravines,  sometimes  high  up  among  thg 
hills,  sometimes  coming  upon  a  stream  and 
taking  in  a  supply  of  water,  and  sometimes 
well-nigh  mad  with  thirst.  They  had  cut  up 
two  of  the  empty  water-skins  and  had  made 
rough  shoes  for  their  horses,  and  believed  that 
they  had  entirely  thrown  their  pursuers  off  the 
trail,  winding  along  on  what  was  little  more 
than  a  goat's  track  up  the  steep  face  of  a  val- 
ley, the  opposite  side  of  which  was  a  perpendic- 
ular cliff.  They  had  nearly  gained  the  top 
when  the  crack  of  a  rifle  was  heard  from  the 
opposite  cliff,  which  was  not  more  than  two 
hundred  yards  away,  although  the  depth  of  the 
gorge  was  fully  a  thousand  feet.  Looking 
across  they  saw  that  nearly  opposite  to  them 
stood  an  Indian  village,  and  that  a  number  of 
redskins  were  running  toward  the  edge. 

"  Hurry  up,  hurry  up ! "  Dave  shouted. 
"  It  is  too  far  for  them  to  shoot  straight,  but 
a  stray  bullet  might  hit  us.  Push  on,  lads, 
with  the  ponies.  We  will  give  them  a  shot  or 
two.  Our  rifles  will  carry  that  distance  eas/ 
enough." 


Il6  THE   GOLDEN  CANON. 

The  lads  pushed  on  while  the  three  miners 
opened  fire.  There  was  but  another  fifty  yards 
to  climb.  They  could  hear  the  sharp  ping  of 
the  bullets  round  them.  One  of  the  ponies 
gave  a  sudden  start,  stumbled  forward,  and 
then  rolled  over  the  edge.  In  another  minute 
the  rest  gained  the  plateau. 

"  Oh,  Dick,  it  is  one  of  the  treasure  ponies," 
Tom  exclaimed. 

"  That  is  a  bad  job,  Tom;  which  is  it?  " 

"  The  gray." 

"  Better  him  than  the  others.  It  was  one 
of  his  bags  that  v.e  took  the  gold  out  of  to 
make  us  up  twenty  pounds  each,  so  there  aint 
above  seventy  pounds  lost.  Come  on,  let  us 
get  beyond  range.  We  don't  want  to  lose  any 
more."  When  they  got  two  or  three  hundred 
yards  further  the  three  men  ran  up. 

"  One  pony  has  gone,  I  see,"  Dave  said. 

"  Yes;  it  is  the  gray.  He  had  only  seventy 
pounds,  you  know,  so  if  one  was  to  go  it  were 
best  it  should  be  him." 

"Well,  let  us  mount  and  be  ofY,  lads;  like 
enough  those  Indians  will  have  to  ride  forty  or 


ON  THE   RETURN.  117 

fifty  miles  to  get  round  this  canon,  and  come 
here,  but,  anyhow,  we  may  as  well  push  on. 
It  is  lucky  the  horses  have  done  well  the  last 
day  or  two,  and  that  we  have  got  our  water- 
skins  full." 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

CONCLUSION. 

'Another  ten  days  of  arduous  toil,  and,  in 
turning  a  sharp  corner  in  a  defile,  they  saw  a 
number  of  men  at  work.  As  these  heard  the 
sound  of  the  horses'  feet  they  threw  down  their 
picks  and  shovels,  and  seized  their  guns. 

"  Don't  say  anything  about  the  gold,"  Dave 
exclaimed  to  the  others.  "  It  is  lucky  it  is  all 
covered  up." 

As  soon  as  the  miners  saw  that  the  new- 
comers were  whites  they  lowered  their  guns. 

"  Why,  where  on  earth  have  you  come 
from  ?  "  one  of  them  asked,  as  they  rode  up. 

"  We  have  been  making  a  prospecting  tour 
among  the  hills." 

"  Have  you  found  anything?  " 

"  Yes;  we  have  found  a  first-rate  place,  but 
the  Apaches  drove  us  off  from  it  when  we  had 
been  at  work  only  four  days,  and  we  have  had 

2X8 


CONCLUSION.  119 

hard  work  to  save  our  scalps.  I  have  no  ob- 
jection to  give  you  the  indications,  for  I  will 
not  go  back  again  among  them  ramping 
Apaches  not  to  find  solid  gold.  There  is  the 
map  as  I  steered  by.  Them  three  points  are 
the  Three  Sisters,  and  that  tree  bears  on  the 
mouth  of  a  narrow  caiion.  There  is  gold 
there,  you  bet,  and  likewise  the  skeletons  of 
about  thirty  Mexicans  who  got  killed  there 
three  or  four  years  ago.  Now,  let  us  have 
some  grub;  we  finished  our  last  ounce  of  flour 
yesterday,  and  have  been  short  for  the  last  fort- 
night." 

"  You  have  had  to  leave  everything  behind, 
I  see,"  the  miner  said,  looking  at  the  eight 
horses. 

"  Yes;  we  had  to  make  a  clean  bolt  for  it. 
However,  in  the  four  days  we  were  there  we 
got  about  seventy  pounds  of  gold,  and  we  have 
stuck  to  that.  Now  you  know  as  much  about 
it  as  we  do.  There  is  gold  enough  to  make  you 
all  rich,  but  you  will  have  to  fight,  and  fight 
hard,  to  get  there  and  come  away  again." 

The  horses  were  unsaddled  and  picketed, 


I20  THE   GOLDEN   CAfJON. 

Dave  and  Joe  taking-  care  themselves  to  un- 
load the  three  packed  ponies,  and  that  the  flat 
bags,  over  which  blankets  had  been  stuffed, 
should  not  be  noticed.  They  stopped  there 
for  two  days  to  rest  the  horses,  and  then  pro- 
ceeded on  their  way,  arriving  at  Pueblo  a  fort- 
night later.  Thence  they  traveled  together 
to  Santa  Fe,  and  then  hired  a  wagon  and 
joined  a  large  caravan  going  across  the  plains 
east.  When  they  reached  St.  Louis  they 
separated.  A  division  was  made  of  the  gold, 
and  the  lads  started  by  train  for  New  York, 
and  the  next  day  took  their  passages  for 
England. 

When  Dick  reached  home  he  was  received  by 
his  family  as  one  from  the  dead.  The  North- 
ampton had  arrived  three  weeks  before,  and, 
from  the  report  Mr.  Allen  had  given,  they  had 
slight  hopes  indeed  that  Dick  would  recover 
from  his  wounds,  although  the  letter  that  Tom 
had  written  three  days  after  he  landed  had 
given  them  some  slight  grounds  for  hope.  The 
letter  had  been  shown  to  the  owners  of  the 
Northampton,  and  as  the  statements  respecting 


CONCLUSION.  121 

the  captain  and  the  first  mate  were  confirmed 
by  Mr.  Allen  and  the  third  ofificer,  the  captain 
and  first  mate  had  been  summarily  discharged 
from  the  service. 

The  astonishment  of  the  lads'  fathers  when 
they  found  that  each  lad  had  brought  home  a 
hundred  pounds  of  gold,  worth  about  five  thou- 
sand pounds,  was  great  indeed.  With  it  shares 
were  bought  in  the  ships  of  the  company,  and 
when  in  time  both  attained  the  rank  of  master 
they  had  the  satisfaction  of  sailing  in  ships 
in  Vv'hich  they  held  shares.  Neither  had  any 
inclination  ever  to  embark  again  upon  the 
operation  of  gold-mining. 


THE  STONE  CHEST; 

OR, 

THE  SECRET   OF   CEDAR  ISLAND. 


THE  STONE  CHEST.* 


CHAPTER   I. 

A   MYSTERY   OF   THE   STORM. 

"  What  a  fearful  night,  Bob !  " 

"  Yes,  mother;  it's  about  the  worst  storm 
of  the  season,"  repHed  Bob  Cromwell,  as  he 
entered  the  seaside  cottage  and  shook  the  water 
from  his  cap.  "  It  will  go  hard  on  any  vessel 
near  the  coast.  The  wind  is  rising  to  a  per- 
fect gale.     Just  listen  to  it  sing." 

There  was  no  need  to  listen.  The  storm 
was  so  violent  one  could  scarcely  hear  aught 
else.  The  little  cottage,  standing  so  boldly  out 
upon  the  sea  cliff,  shook  and  rocked  from  end 
to  end  as  if  preparing  to  leave  its  foundations. 

"  I  see  supper  is  ready,"  went  on  Bob.  "  By 
the  way,  was  Mr.  Vasty  here  ?  " 

"■  Copyrighted,  1896,  by  the  Bright  Days  Pub.  Co. 

"5 


126  THE  STONE  CHEST. 

At  once  Mrs.  Cromwell's  face  grew  dark 
and  troubled.  It  was  an  aristocratic  face,  and 
plainly  indicated  that  the  lady  had  seen  better 
days. 

"  Yes,  he  was  here,  Bob." 

"  And  what  did  he  say?  " 

"  We  must  leave  on  Monday.  The  cottage 
has  been  sold  over  our  heads." 

Tears  stood  in  Mrs.  Cromwell's  eyes  as  she 
spoke. 

"Sold!" 

"  Yes,  my  boy.  He  said  he  could  wait  no 
longer.  He  believes,  as  do  all  in  Sea  Cove, 
that  your  father  is  dead." 

"  Perhaps  he  is,"  sighed  Bob.  "  It  is  now 
over  six  months  since  the  Bluebell  went  down. 
If  he  escaped  in  a  small  boat  we  should  have 
heard  from  him  before  this." 

"  Oh,  I  cannot  believe  your  father  dead, 
Bob,"  cried  the  mother,  bursting  into  tears. 
"  If  I  thought  that "     She  did  not  finish. 

Bob  sat  down  to  the  supper  table  in  silence. 
He  had  little  heart  to  eat,  and  swallowed  the 
food  mechanically. 


A  MYSTERY    OF  THE   STORM.  127 

Bob  was  seventeen  years  of  age,  bright, 
handsome,  and  fearless.  He  was  Mrs.  Croiri' 
well's  only  son  and  his  father  had  been  a  sea 
captain. 

We  say,  had  been,  for  the  Bluehell  had  been 
wrecked  some  time  before  and  all  in  Sea  Cove 
thought  the  captain  dead — all  saving  Mrs. 
Cromwell,  who  still  hoped  for  his  safe  return 
— hoping,  as  it  were,  against  hope. 

Years  before  the  Cromwells  had  been  rich, 
owning  four  large  trading  vessels.  But  bad 
luck  had  come  and  continued  until  the  fortune 
dwindled  down  to  nothing  but  the  ownership 
of  the  old  Bluebell.  It  was  then  that  the  cap- 
tain had  determined  on  a  voyage  to  Alaska, 
taking  with  him  a  party  of  men  who  wished 
to  explore  the  new  gold  mines  in  that  territory. 

The  Bluehell  was  supposed  to  have  gone 
down  in  sight  of  the  coast  and  only  two  of  the 
survivors  had  thus  far  returned. 

As  time  went  by  the  little  cottage,  a  poor 
affair  at  the  best,  was  mortgaged  to  pay  out- 
standing debts.  It  was  the  last  of  the  Crom- 
well belongings. 


128  THE  STONE  CHEST. 

Bob  worked  at  the  docks,  handling  freight. 
It  was  not  what  he  had  been  brought  up  to, 
but  it  was  the  best  employment  he  could  obtain 
in  the  vicinity. 

"  I  don't  see  what's  to  be  done,  Bob,"  said 
Mrs.  Cromwell,  during  a  lull  in  the  storm. 
"  We  must  move  and  I  have  only  three  dollars 
in  all." 

"  Oh,  I  forgot !  "  he  suddenly  exclaimed,  and 
pulled  a  ten-dollar  bill  from  his  pocket. 
"  Here,  mother,  is  a  little  to  help  us." 

"  Why,  where  in  the  world  did  you  get  that, 
Bob?  "  she  ejaculated. 

"  A  young  gentleman  gave  it  to  me — in- 
sisted I  should  take  it." 

"What  for?" 

"  He  said  I  saved  his  life." 

"And  did  you?" 

"  Well,  I  don't  know — perhaps,"  mused 
Bob.  "  You  see,  it  was  Captain  Randolph 
Sumner,  the  gentleman  who  owns  that  splen- 
did new  yacht  down  to  Marcey's.  He  fell 
into  the  water  right  in  front  of  the  incoming 
steamer  Flag,  and  I  fished  him  out  just  as  he 


A  MYSTERY  OF  THE   STORM.  1 29 

was  on  the  point  of  being  struck.  He  was 
very  grateful  and  made  me  keep  the  money, 
although  I  didn't  want  it  and  told  him  so." 

That  was  all  Bob  said.  He  was  too  modest 
to  mention  that  Randolph  Sumner  had  called 
him  a  hero  and  that  the  crowd  standing  by  had 
given  him  a  cheer  for  his  bravery. 

"Ten  dollars  is  a  windfall,"  began  Mrs. 

Cromwell.     "  Now  if  we Gracious,  the 

signal  gun.  Bob !  " 

Boom! 

Bob  sprang  up  from  the  table.  He  knew 
that  sound  only  too  well. 

Boom! 

"  Ship  has  struck,  mother !  "  he  cried.  "  I 
must  go  down  and  see  if  I  can  help  in  any 
way." 

And  waiting  for  no  reply,  the  youth  grabbed 
up  his  cap  and  storm  coat  and  rushed  out  into 
the  storm. 

Bob  was  right — a  ship  had  struck.  Away 
off  through  the  mist  and  rain  he  could  see  the 
colored  lights  and  the  flash  of  the  gun,  calling 
for  help. 


130  THE  STONE   CHEST. 

The  lifeboat  men  were  already  out  and  get- 
ting ready  to  launch  their  heavy  craft. 

"Look!  look!     The  ship  is  going  down!" 

The  cry  thrilled  everyone  to  the  very  heart. 
It  was  true.  The  stately  ship  was  sinking  fast. 
Down  she  went  and  came  up  again,  once,  twice 
— and  then  no  more. 

The  lifeboat  went  out  in  a  hurry,  but  it  was 
of  no  avail.  The  storm  had  done  its  work 
and  all  on  board  had  perished. 

No,  not  all.  Walking  at  the  foot  of  the 
cliff  a  little  later.  Bob  heard  a  low  moan,  and 
soon  came  upon  the  body  of  an  aged  seaman 
jammed  in  between  the  rocks.  The  man  was 
fearfully  bruised  and  did  nothing  but  moan 
as  the  youth  bore  him  up  to  the  cottage. 

Here  he  was  made  as  comfortable  as  possible 
on  a  cot.  It  was  an  hour  before  he  was  able 
to  open  his  eyes. 

"Where  am  I?"  he  asked  faintly.  "Oh, 
the  storm.  I  was  hit  in  the  back — I  am  dying; 
I  know  it.     Take  me  to  Mrs.  Leon  Cromwell." 

At  this  utterance  Mrs.  Cromwell  and  Bob 
were  both  greatly  astonished. 


A  MYSTERY  OF  THE   STORM.  I3I 

**  I  am  Mrs.  Cromwell,  sir." 

"You!     It  is  not  possible!" 

"Mother  tells  the  truth,"  put  in  Bob. 
"What  do  you  want?" 

"  You  are  the  wife  of  Leon  Cromwell  ?  " 

"  I  am,"  said  the  woman. 

"  Heaven  be  praised !  Who  brought  you  to 
me?" 

"  I  brought  you  to  our  cottage,"  returned 
Bob.     "  You  lay  unconscious  on  the  rocks." 

"  It  is  the  work  of  Providence,"  murmured 
the  sufferer.  "  I  was  on  my  way  hither  when 
the  storm  overtook  the  Mary  Lee.  I — I — a 
drink — I  am  fainting!" 

W^ater  with  brandy  was  brought  and  the 
man  revived  a  little.  He  glared  strangely  at 
Mrs.  Cromwell. 

"  I  must  speak  quickly,  for  I  am  dying — I 
know  it,  feel  it.  I  was  sick  on  board;  that's 
why  I  know.  The  doctor  said  I  couldn't  live, 
and  the  storm  has  only  hastened  matters.  I 
want  to  talk  to  you  about  your  husband." 

"  Is  he  alive?  "  came  from  mother  anda^^on 
simultaneously. 


132  THE   STONE  CHEST. 

"  He  is — or  was  three  months  ago.  At 
Zaruth,  on  the  Siberian  coast — where  the  stone 
chest  was  left — we — more  drink — quick !  " 

Again  the  sufferer  had  a  relapse. 

"  The  stone  chest  caused  the  trouble. 
There  was  gold  and  silver,  and  after  the 
wreck " 

"  Never  mind  the  gold  and  silver.  Where 
is  my  husband?"  interrupted  Mrs.  Cromwell. 

"  I  was  going  to  tell  you.     We  started  for 

— for "      The    man    gasped    for    breath. 

"  It's  my  head.  We  started  for  the  coast, 
when  the  people  living  there  who  had  seen 
the  stone  chest,  got  together  and — oh!  " 

The  sufferer  fell  back  in  a  spasm  of  pain, 
from  which  it  was  almost  impossible  to  revive 
him.     At  last  he  spoke  again. 

"  He  was  made  a  prisoner,  and — water,  or  I 
die — I  can't  drink — it  is  growing  dark — the 
papers  in  my  pocket  are  for  you — and  may 
Heaven  forgive  me !  " 

The  man  leaped  almost  to  his  feet,  then  fell 
back  in  another  spasm.  A  minute  later  he 
was  dead. 


A  MYSTERY  OF  THE   STORM.  133 

With  tenderness  mother  and  son  cared  for 
the  body.  In  one  of  the  seaman's  pockets  was 
found  a  packet  of  papers  yellow  with  age. 

Bob  opened  the  packet  and  looked  over  the 
paper  with  interest.  An  hour  passed.  Then 
the  youth  sprang  to  his  feet. 

"  Mother,  I  am  going  to  Cedar  Island  on 
the  Siberian  coast  and  to  father's  rescue!  "  he 
cried,  with  sudden  determination. 


CHAPTER   II. 

OFF   FOR   ZARUTH. 

"To  Siberia— Cedar  Island!" 

"  Yes,  mother.  From  what  I  can  make  out, 
father  is  there,  a  prisoner  of  some  people  called 
the  Svlachkys,  and  all  on  account  of  a  wonder- 
ful stone  chest,  said  to  be  filled  with  gold  and 
silver." 

"  It  cannot  be  true.  Bob." 

"  I  think  it  is.  This  dead  sailor's  name  was 
Ruel  Gross " 

"  Ruel  Gross !  "  Mrs.  Cromwell  started. 
"  I  heard  of  him  before.  Your  father  said  he 
possessed  a  wonderful  secret." 

"  He  did — about  the  stone  chest.  The  whole 
truth  is,  so  far  as  I  can  understand,  he  got 
father  to  go  up  there  in  search  of  it.  After  it 
was  found  they  got  into  some  trouble  with 

'34 


OFF   FOR   ZARUTH.  135 

the  natives,  and  Ruel  Gross  abandoned  father 
to  his  fate.  Here  is  a  handmade  map  of  the 
locaHty." 

"  Pray  Heaven  your  father  still  lives," 
murmured  Mrs.  Cromwell.  ''  But  you  say 
you  are  going  up  there.     How  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know.  But  I'll  find  a  way,  even 
if  I  have  to  go  up  on  a  whaler." 

Mrs.  Cromwell  shook  her  head. 

On  the  following  morning  the  dead  body  of 
the  sailor  was  turned  over  to  the  village  author- 
ities. 

Between  them  mother  and  son  decided  for 
the  present  to  say  nothing  to  the  simple  fisher- 
folks  concerning  Ruel  Gross'  revelation. 

"  They'll  sneer  at  us— that's  all,"  said  Bob. 

But  Bob  confided  in  his  chum,  Jack  Larmore, 
an  orphan  boy  of  his  own  age.  Jack  was  tre- 
mendously interested. 

"Say,  Bob,  I'll  go  along,  if  you  say  the 
word,"  he  said.  "  I'm  sick  of  Sea  Cove  and 
the  mean  folks  living  around  here." 

"  All  right." 

That  noon,  when  Bob  returned  home  h€S 


13^  THE  STONE   CHEST. 

found  Captain  Sumner  present,  talking  to  his 

mother. 

.     The  captain  had  come  to  offer  Bob  a  position 

on  his  yacht. 

"  I  would  like  to  go — if  you're  going  up  the 
coast,"  said  Bob.  "  I  want  to  get  to  Alaska, 
and  then  to  Cedar  Island,  off  Siberia." 

The  rich  yacht-owner  was  much  astonished. 
He  proceeded  to  draw  Bob  out,  and  an  hour 
later  had  the  youth's  story  in  full.  With  Mrs. 
Cromwell  he  looked  over  the  papers  and  map. 

Then  he  lit  a  cigar  and  began  to  pace  up  and 
down  the  parlor  of  the  cottage. 

"  I've  half  a  mind  to  cruise  up  there,"  he 
said.  "  To  me,  one  place  is  as  good  as  another. 
I  love  to  roam  the  wide  world  over,  and  have 
already  been  to  the  South  Seas  and  to  the  coast 
of  Africa.  What  if  I  should  take  you  up  there, 
my  boy  ?  " 

"  Will  you?  "  shouted  Bob,  in  quick  delight. 
"  Do  it,  and  you  shall  have  the  contents  of  that 
stone  chest — if  we  can  get  it.'* 

"  No,  I'll  only  want  my  share  of  it,"  laughed 
Captain  Sumner. 


OFF  FOR  ZARUTH.  137 

On  the  next  day  they  talked  the  matter  over 
once  more.  The  captain  was  a  widower  with 
one  child,  a  girl  of  fifteen.  The  girl,  whose 
name  was  Viola,  said  she  would  like  to  go  up 
the  coast  to  new  lands.  But  she  would  like 
Mrs.  Cromwell,  or  some  other  lady,  to  go 
along. 

Persuaded  bv  Bob,  Mrs.  Cromwell  said  she 
would  undertake  the  trip,  and  before  they  knew 
it,  all  arrangements  were  made. 

The  Dart,  as  the  yacht  was  named,  was  sent 
to  San  Francisco  for  stores,  and  three  days 
later  Bob  and  Mrs.  Cromwell  and  Jack  Lar- 
more  left  Sea  Cove,  and  left  it  forever! 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  tale  to  tell  of 
all  that  happened  ere  the  Dart  put  to  sea 
on  that  memorable  voyage  up  the  coast  to 
Alaska. 

For  awhile  all  went  well  on  board.  But  one 
day  there  was  trouble  among  the  crew.  The 
trouble  grew  worse  and  three  of  the  fellows 
had  to  be  put  into  irons. 

They  were  let  go  later  on,  but  ever  after 
they  showed  their  ugliness  only  too  plainly. 


138  THE   STONE  CHEST. 

Bob  and  Jack  were  not  idle  while  on  board. 
Both  did  their  full  share  of  work  and  both 
proved  themselves  good  sailors. 

A  strong  friendship  sprang  up  between  Mrs. 
Cromwell  and  Viola  Sumner,  and  the  two  be- 
came almost  inseparable. 

Bob  found  Captain  Sumner  a  fine  man  to 
get  along  with,  stern  at  times,  but  always  fair 
and  square.  He  had,  as  he  said,  been  a  great 
rover,  and  often  told  interesting  stories  of  his 
adventures. 

As  days  went  by  and  they  got  further  north 
it  became  colder.  Then  a  storm  was  encoun- 
tered which  took  them  many  miles  out  of  their 
course. 

So  suddenly  did  it  fall  upon  them  that  the 
sails  were  blown  to  ribbons. 

Viola  Sumner,  who  was  on  deck,  got 
drenched  and  nearly  drowned.  She  was  saved 
by  Bob  only  at  peril  of  his  life,  and  carried 
down  into  the  cabin  nearly  senseless. 

And  now  we  find  the  Dart  storm-beaten,  but 
still  water-tight,  blown  far  out  to  sea. 

Bob,  who  had  just  come  on  deck,  cast  his 


OFF  FOR  ZARUTH.  139 

eye  first  aloft,  like  the  true  sailor  he  was  be- 
coming, and  then  around  him. 

Not  more  than  half  a  mile  distant  towered 
an  immense  iceberg,  its  topmost  pinnacles 
glowing  in  the  bright  morning  sun. 

Other  bergs  floated  to  the  southward,  while 
to  both  east  and  west  could  be  seen  long  floes 
of  rugged  ice. 

The  yacht  was  trying  to  beat  to  the  north- 
ward by  making  short  tacks  through  the  ice- 
floes, but,  as  Bob  could  see,  she  made  but  little 

way. 

"  Have  we  done  any  good  since  I  went 
below? "  he  asked  Bok,  a  sailor  who  was 
steering. 

"  No,  faith,  yer  honor.  The  current  sets  so 
fast  to  the  south  that  sorra  a  bit  more  north 
do  we  make  in  an  hour  than  I  could  throw  a  cat 
by  her  tail.  It's  wearisome  work,  yer  honor, 
and,  be  jabers !  it's  bitterly  cold." 

Bob  buttoned  his  pilot  coat  closer  around 
him  and  shivered. 

"  You  are  right,  Bok." 

"Hullo,  Bob  I" 


140  THE   STONE  CHEST. 

Our  hero  looked  around  and  perceived  Jack 
Larmore's  head  above  the  companion. 

"  Come  down  to  breakfast,  before  it's  cold," 
cried  Jack. 

Our  hero  made  a  bolt  down  the  ladder  after 
his  friend. 

"  What  is  your  opinion,  Bob,  about  the 
men?  "  asked  Captain  Sumner,  as  Bob  took  his 
place  at  the  table.  "  I  mean  the  rascals  I  had 
to  iron  up  last  week." 

"  Well,  sir,"  replied  our  hero,  "  they  seem 
to  go  about  their  duty  all  right,  but  after  our 
experience,  we  must  never  trust  them." 

"  It's  that  scoundrel,  Nockey,  that  I  mis- 
trust. The  others  are  more  fools  than  knaves. 
He  will  never  forgive  that  flogging  I  gave 
him." 

"  It  served  him  all  right,"  broke  in  Bob. 
"  When  we  gave  them  the  choice  of  taking  a 
couple  of  dozen  or  going  ashore,  not  one  hesi- 
tated." 

"  Well,  even  now,  we  have  only  eight  hands 
and  ourselves." 

"  What  do  you  mean  to  do,  papa  ? "  broke 


OFF  FOR  ZARUTH.  I4I 

in  Viola.  "  Surely  not  go  further  among 
these  dreadful  icebergs?  I  have  read  that 
ships  are  often  crushed  by  them." 

"  I  should  be  only  too  glad  to  be  out  of  these 
regions,  dear;  but,  with  the  wind  and  current 
against  us,  I  don't  know  what  to  do." 

As  soon  as  breakfast  was  finished  the  cap- 
tain went  on  deck.  His  eye  rested  on  the  floe 
to  the  westward. 

"  Where  are  your  eyes,  you  Irish  lubber?  " 
he  shouted  to  the  steersman.  "  Don't  you  see 
yon  ice  closing  in  on  us  ?  You  ought  to  have 
let  me  know  of  this." 

"  Blest  if  I  can  see  much  change,"  muttered 
Bok. 

"  But  I  can.  The  channel  is  narrowed  by 
half.  We  shall  never  get  clear  of  it  before 
we  are  nipped.  'Bout  ship,  boys,  and  be 
smart! " 

"All  hands!"  bellowed  the  mate. 

In  a  couple  of  minutes  the  small  crew  were 
on  deck,  hauling  in  the  ropes  and  halyards. 

The  topsail-yards  swung  round,  the  helm 
was  put  hard  down. 


142  THE   STONE  CHEST. 

The  sails  shivered  in  the  wind  as  the  yacht 
came  about. 

"  Put  both  the  main-  and  fore-sails  on  her, 
Leeks.  We  must  be  out  of  this  trap  as  soon 
as  possible,"  cried  the  captain. 

It  took  some  time  to  get  full  sail  on  the 
Dart. 

Once  done,  however,  she  flew  onward,  with 
>  with  the  wind  on  her  quarter,  at  a  tremendous 
speed. 

"  Sixteen  knots  an  hour !  Bravo !  "  cried 
the  captain.     "  Can't  she  move.  Bob?  " 

"  That  she  can,  sir.  But  I  can't  help  dread- 
ing this  still  going  through  the  ice.  There  are 
few  ships,  except  whalers,  that  have  penetrated 
as  far  as  we,  I  should  think." 

"  Right,  sir.  But  desperate  circumstances 
require  desperate  means.  None  of  us  want  to 
spend  a  winter  here,  and,  though  we  happen  to 
be  fortunate  as  to  the  time  of  year,  another 
month  or  six  weeks  will  see  this  sea  covered 
with  ice." 


CHAPTER    III. 

AMONG   THE   ICEBERGS. 

Bang!  crash! 

At  that  instant  a  shock  nearly  threw  them 
off  their  feet. 

Viola  caught  Bob's  arm,  and  Mrs.  Crom- 
well and  the  captain  almost  fell  together. 

"  We  are  foul  of  the  ice!  "  shouted  the  mate, 
rushing  forward. 

"What!"  roared  the  captain.  "Where's 
that  rascally  lookout  ?  Down  with  helm !  The 
sea  is  full  of  loose  ice." 

For  the  rest  of  the  day  the  Dart  was  dodg- 
ing through  hummocks  of  ice,  which  looked  as 
if  a  floe  had  been  broken  up  by  a  storm. 

When  Bob  came  on  deck  for  his  watch  at 
midnight,  it  was  intensely  dark. 

A  thin  scud  shut  out  the  light  of  the  stars 
and  moon. 

X48 


144  THE  STONE   CHEST. 

He  was  joined  by  Jack,  for  the  two  lads 
usually  kept  watch  together. 

"  I  am  afraid  we  are  in  a  tight  fix,"  said  the 
latter.  "  I  doubt  if  we  shall  ever  again  find 
our  way  home.'" 

"  Never  say  die/'  cried  our  hero.  "  But 
look!     What's  that  yonder?  " 

The  two  chums  peered  into  the  darkness 
ahead. 

"  I  think  there  is  a  blacker  spot  than  the  rest 
over  the  starboard  bow,"  said  Bob,  after  a 
while. 

"  There  are  some  blue  signal-lights  here. 
I'll  ignite  one,"  suggested  Jack. 

Retiring  under  shelter  of  the  companion- 
way  he  struck  a  light  and  ignited  the  blue  fire. 

Clambering  on  to  the  bulwarks,  and  holding 
on  to  the  forestay  with  one  hand,  he  held  it 
above  his  head. 

Right  in  front  of  them  loomed  two  bergs, 
not  a  quarter  of  a  mile  apart,  the  sea  dashing 
in  spray  along  their  sides. 

There  was  not  a  moment  for  hesitation. 

"  Port  your   helm ! "   sang  out  our  hero. 


AMONG  THE   ICEBERGS,  I45 

"Keep  her  so!"  he  added,  as  he  saw  the 
bows  of  the  schooner  point  for  the  narrow 
passage. 

Jack  Ht  another  blue  Hght,  and  thumped  on 
the  deck  to  wake  those  below. 

In  half  a  minute  Captain  Sumner  and  the 
mate  were  beside  them. 

"  The  bergs  are  closing  in  on  us,"  said  the 
captain  quietly.  "  Go  to  your  helm,  Bok;  it 
■will  be  safer." 

The  bergs  were  more  than  a  mile  long,  and 
the  vessel,  under  easy  sail,  was  not  making 
more  than  six  knots  an  hour. 

"  Here,  gentlemen,  take  the  halyards,  and 
rouse  up  the  topgallant  sails.  I  won't  trust  the 
crev/  on  deck  till  the  last  minute." 

With  the  assistance  of  the  man  Bob  had  re- 
lieved at  the  wheel,  they  soon  had  the  top- 
gallant sails,  which  had  been  furled,  chock-a- 
block. 

"  It  will  be  a  narrow  squeak,"  muttered  the 
captain,  as  he  glanced  at  the  icebergs,  whose 
tops  seemed  quite  close,  though  the  bases  were 
yet  some  distance  from  the  schooner. 


14^  THE  STONE  CHEST. 

"  Is  there  any  hope?  "  whispered  a  soft  voice 
in  our  hero's  ear. 

"  I  trust  so,  Miss  Viola,"  he  answered. 
"  See !  yonder  is  the  end  of  the  ice  mountain 
on  the  starboard  bow." 

"  But  how  close  they  are !  " 

"  They  look  closer  than  they  are  in  reality," 
he  replied. 

All  the  time  he  was  wondering  if  their  end 
had  really  come. 

Suppose  the  wind  were  to  fail! 

Fortunately  for  them,  however,  caught  be- 
tween the  two  bergs,  it  rather  increased  in 
force  than  diminished. 

The  icy  tops  seemed  now  ready  to  topple 
down  on  the  deck. 

The  waves,  running  up  the  sides  of  the 
bergs,  lifted  the  vessel  on  their  swell  as  they 
rebounded. 

Fifty  yards  on  either  side  towered  the  glit- 
tering mountains. 

Thirty  yards,  twenty  yards!  and  the  salt 
spray  of  the  billows,  which  dashed  on  the  icy 
cliffs,  fell  on  deck. 


AMONG  THE  ICEBERGS.  I47 

Viola's  hand  was  clasped  in  Bob's,  and  our 
hero  felt  some  relief  in  facing  death  with  her 
and  his  mother. 

"  Call  your  comrades/'  cried  Captain 
Sumner  to  the  sailor.  "  Give  them  a  chance 
for  life.  Come,  Mrs.  Cromwell,  Viola,  Bob, 
Jack — all  of  you.  Prepare  to  jump  for  the  ice, 
when  we  strike !    It's  our  only  hope  1 " 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  ESCAPE  FROM  THE  ICEBERGS. 

To  Captain  Sumner  it  looked  as  if  the  Dart 
would  surely  be  crushed. 

"  Be  prepared  to  jump !  "  he  sang  out  again. 

But  even  as  he  spoke  a  strong  gust  filled  the 
yacht's  topsails. 

She  plunged  forward. 

The  starboard  berg  was  left  behind,  and  the 
sea  on  that  bow  was  open. 

Bok  instantly  shifted  the  helm. 

The  Dart's  head  fell  away  from  the  danger 
on  the  port  bow. 

A  few  minutes  passed. 

Then,  with  a  crash  as  if  an  earthquake  had 
riven  a  mountain  chain,  the  two  bergs  met. 

Our  hero,  who,  with  the  others,  was  watch- 
ing with  breathless  interest,  saw  them  rebound. 

Huge  blocks  and  pinnacles  of  ice,  thousands 

I4« 


THE  ESCAPE   FROM  THE   ICEBERGS.      I49 

of  tons  in  weight,  fell  into  the  gap  between 
them. 

Before  these  could  rise  to  the  surface  the 
ice  mountains  had  again  collided. 

A  crunching,  rending  sound  struck  the  ears 
of  our  friends,  as  the  two  monsters  ground 
their  sides  against  one  another. 

The  rugged  summits  fell  into  the  sea,  and 
formed  smaller  bergs. 

The  yacht  was  lifted  on  to  the  top  of  the 
giant  waves  caused  by  the  concussion,  then 
sank  into  the  hollow,  only  to  be  caught  up 
again  by  the  still  higher  swell. 

But  the  danger  was  over! 

After  escaping  so  narrowly  being  crushed 
the  Dart  found  the  sea  free  from  ice,  and  made 
good  way  to  the  southward. 

However,  about  eight  bells  on  the  following 
day,  a  gale  sprang  up  from  the  northeast,  which 
drove  down  the  eastern  floe  in  dangerous 
proximity. 

The  waves  rose,  and  sheets  of  spray  flew 
over  the  fast-driven  schooner. 

it  was  so  cold  that,  in  spite  of  all  the  warm 


I$0  THE   STONE   CHEST. 

clothing  they  could  find  on  board,  all  hands 
felt  numbed. 

"  Land  ahead !  "  was  an  appalling  cry  which 
rang  out  suddenly. 

Captain  Sumner  himself  hurried  forward. 

A  rough,  rocky  island,  the  waves  dashing  in 
foam  against  its  low  cliffs,  was  discerned 
through  the  flying  spray. 

Already  the  edge  of  the  eastern  floe  was 
crushing  itself  to  pieces  against  the  projecting 
reefs. 

On  the  right,  or  western  side,  was  a  lane 
of  broken  water. 

To  venture  into  it  was  very  dangerous,  but 
seemed  their  only  chance. 

Bok  and  another  sailor  were  at  the  wheel. 

Over  it  went,  strained  down  by  their  united 
strength,  and  the  Dart  dashed  through  the 
breaking  water. 

The  western  side  of  the  island  was  about  a 
mile  long. 

Twice,  by  porting  the  helm,  the  little  vessel 
escaped  clear  of  rocks,  over  which  the  water 
spurted. 


THE  ESCAPE   FROM   TilE   ICEBERGS.      15I 

As  she  approached  the  southern  end  of  the 
isle,  Bok,  who  had  been  sent  into  the  foretop, 
shouted  that  again  there  was  land  ahead,  and 
that  the  passage  between  was  full  of  ice. 

The  captain  ascended  the  shrouds  himself, 
half-way  to  the  top. 

"  It's  like  a  cauldron,"  he  exclaimed  on  de- 
scending. "  No  ship,  except  perhaps  a  very 
powerful  steam  whaler,  could  live  in  it. 

"  There  is  only  one  chance  for  us,"  he  con- 
tinued. "  We  must  get  under  shelter  of  this 
island." 

As  the  south  coast  line  opened,  the  helm 
was  put  down,  and  the  vessel  was  hove  to 
under  a  high  cliff  and  jutting  cape,  which  pro- 
tected her  from  the  rush  of  the  ice-laden 
current. 

Both  anchors  v/ere  at  once  let  go. 

Fortunately  they  found  good  holding 
ground. 

All  the  rest  of  that  day,  and  till  dawn  the 
next,  did  the  gale  rage;  but  as  the  short  night 
passed,  the  wind  sank,  and  by  mid-day  it  was 
but  a  breeze. 


152  THE  STONE  CHEST. 

The  current  running  between  the  islands 
soon  swept  the  ice  away. 

But  before  trusting  himself  in  these  strange 
waters  the  captain  determined  to  send  a  boat 
across  to  the  greater  island,  on  which  rose  a 
rugged  hill  of  considerable  height. 

Both  Mrs.  Cromwell  and  Viola  begged  for 
a  run  on  shore,  so  the  larger  boat  was  manned 
by  Bok  and  three  seamen,  Bob  and  Jack  each 
taking  an  oar,  while  the  captain  and  the 
women  occupied  the  stern-sheets. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   ARCTIC   ISLAND. 

Once  on  the  island,  it  was  seen  that  the  hill 
rose  on  its  southernmost  point. 

The  ground  was  rocky,  and  covered  with 
deep  patches  of  snow  in  sheltered  places. 

"  I  don't  like  the  look  of  that,"  observed 
the  captain.  "  That  is  this  year's  snow.  Once 
the  frost  sets  in  we  are  done." 

Finding  it  hard  work  to  traverse  the  direct 
route,  they  made  for  the  western  shore. 

Here,  though  they  had  to  clamber  over  hil- 
locks and  steep  rocks,  they  got  along  quicker. 

Suddenly  Bok,  who  was  in  front,  uttered  a 
shout. 

On  the  others  hastening  up  they  saw  thS 
cause  of  his  astonishment. 

Beached  in  a  little  bay,  with  her  topmasts 

^53 


154  THE  stonl:  chest. 

gone  and  the  hulk  lying  over  on  the  port  side, 
was  a  brig. 

The  water  only  washed  her  rudder-case,  and 
the  captain  noticed,  to  his  dismay,  a  thin 
coating  of  ice  fringing  the  shore  of  the 
inlet. 

Not  a  sign  of  life  was  to  be  seen. 

"  We  must  examine  her  before  we  do  any- 
thing else/'  exclaimed  Bob. 

Captain  Sumner  looked  at  his  watch, 

"  We  can  spare  an  hour,"  he  said,  "  but  not 
more," 

There  was  a  rush  down  the  steep  rocks  on 
to  the  sand. 

Arriving  alongside,  for  some  time  they  could 
find  no  means  of  climbing  on  board,  till  our 
hero  found  a  rope  hanging  from  the  port-bow, 
which,  on  being  pulled,  seemed  strong  and 
firm. 

As  soon  as  he,  the  captain,  Bok,  and  one 
of  the  men  were  on  deck,  which  sloped  acutely, 
Bob  called  to  the  ladies  to  say  that  he  would 
fetch  a  chair,  or  something  to  serve  as  one,  and 
hoist  them  up. 


THE  ARCTIC  ISLAND.  I55 

To  their  surprise  the  companionway  was  not 
blocked  with  ice  and  the  doorway  was  shut. 

It  opened  easily,  and  our  hero  was  the  first 
to  descend. 

An  extraordinary  scene  presented  itself  to 
his  eyes  directly  they  got  accustomed  to  the 
gloom. 

Seated  at  a  table,  some  upright,  others  with 
their  heads  sunk  in  their  folded  arms,  which 
rested  on  the  table,  were  the  shrunken  bodies 
of  a  dozen  or  more  men. 

So  life-like  were  they  that  not  until  he  had 
summoned  up  courage  to  touch  one  did  Bob 
believe  them  dead. 

Some  empty  bottles,  and  a  cup  or  two,  stood 
on  the  table. 

They  might  have  dropped  to  sleep  after  a 
carouse. 

If  they  had  it  was  the  sleep  of  death. 

Remembering  his  promise,  Bob  looked 
around  for  a  chair. 

Not  seeing  one  unoccupied,  he  was  obliged 
to  lift  up  one  of  the  bodies  and  lay  it  on  ^ 
locker. 


156  THE   STONE  CHEST. 

Within  another  locker  was  found  a  length 
of  stout  rope,  which  seemed  uninjured,  and, 
accompanied  by  Bok,  he  repaired  on  deck  and 
hastened  to  the  side. 

The  chair  was  soon  rigged,  and  Mrs.  Crom- 
well and  Viola  were  hauled  on  board. 

To  prepare  them  for  the  ghastly  sight,  our 
hero  told  them  and  Jack  what  they  would 
see. 

Opening  a  door  at  the  bulkhead,  Captain 
Sumner,  closely  followed  by  the  two  lads  and 
the  others,  stepped  into  a  narrow  passage, 
which  had  berths  on  each  side. 

Passing  through  a  second  door  they  came 
into  a  square  room,  in  which  was  built  a  clay 
and  stone  fireplace. 

The  captain  stopped  short. 

A  fire  smoldered  on  the  hearth, 

"  Hullo !  "  cried  the  captain.  "  Someone 
still  lives!" 

"  Yonder  lies  the  body  of  a  man !  "  exclaimed 
Viola,  who  had  crept  to  Bob's  side  and  taken 
his  arm  between  her  hands. 

"Don't  be  afraid/'   he  whispered.     "We 


THE  ARCTIC   ISLAND.  157 

must  be  glad  that  we  have  arrived  in  time,  if 
indeed  we  have." 

The  captain  and  Bob  advanced  to  the  pros- 
trate man's  side. 

He  was  lying  on  a  rug  of  seals'  skins,  with 
another  pulled  over  him,  under  which  was  a 
blanket. 

"  He  lives !  "  cried  the  captain,  placing  his 
hand  over  the  heart  of  the  unconscious  man. 

After  a  minute  a  faint  color  mantled  his 
white  cheek  and  he  heaved  a  long  sigh. 

Presently  the  eyelids  trembled,  and  a  mo- 
ment later  he  opened  them. 

They  rested  on  the  captain,  who  was  stoop- 
ing over  him. 

A  look  of  surprise  came  into  them,  but  they 
almost  immediately  closed  again. 

A  dose  of  hot  brandy  was  given. 

This  time  he  recovered  considerably,  and 
looked  round  him  inquiringly. 

"  You  will  do  now,  my  man,"  cried  the  cap- 
tain encouragingly.  "  Try  him  with  the 
food,"  he  added. 

Airs.  Cromwell  brought  the  roughly  minced 


158  THE   STONE   CHEST. 

meat  and  soddened  bread  and  placed  a  spoon- 
ful in  the  sufferer's  mouth. 

He  swallowed  it  eagerly. 

After  he  had  taken  some  half-dozen  spoon- 
fuls he  turned  his  head  on  the  pillow  and  fell 
asleep. 

"  He  will  be  all  right  now,"  whispered  the 
captain.  "  But  someone  must  stay  with  him 
while  we  ransack  the  ship." 

A  second  door  led  forward,  and,  leaving  the 
watchers,  the  rest  of  the  party  passed  through 
it. 

Forward  was  found  a  number  of  great  casks, 
such  as  are  used  to  receive  the  blubber  cut  from 
the  whale. 

"  She  is  a  whaler,  evidently,"  exclaimed  the 
captain. 

In  the  forecastle  there  was  nothing  except 
some  hammocks  and  a  chest  or  two. 

"  We  can  get  warmer  clothing  than  what 
v;e  possess,  anyhow,"  remarked  the  captain. 
"  Now,  what's  the  best  thing  to  do?  " 

"We  can  carry  the  man  back  in  a  ham- 
mock," suggested  one. 


(( 


THE  ARCTIC   ISLAND.  1 59 

I  doubt  it,"  replied  tlie  captain.  "  What 
I  propose  is  that  some  of  us  stay  the  night  with 
him,  and  we  will  return  in  the  morning,  by 
which  time  he  will  be  much  stronger." 

On  their  return  to  the  square  room,  Bob  and 
Jack  volunteered  to  remain. 

This  done,  Bok  was  delegated  to  bring  them, 
some  supper. 

On  arriving  Bok  first  fastened  to  the  rope 
the  package  he  had  brought,  which  was  drawn 
on  board,  and  then  the  rope  was  lowered 
again. 

"Be  jabers!  but  it's  cold,  it  is,"  he  cried. 
"  If  I  might  be  so  bold,  I  would  jist  suggest 
that  we  should  go  down  below.  How  is  the 
dead  man  ?  " 

"  He  isn't  dead  yet,"  replied  Bob,  laughing. 
"  But  he  is  sleeping  still.  I  hope  you  have 
brought  something  good  for  him."  . 

*'  Good,  is  it  ?  There's  a  tin  of  soup,  and 
another  of  salmon,  besides  a  piece  of  seal,  that 
Leeks  shot  while  we  were  away. 

"  Then  there  is  a  bottle  of  wine — that's  for 
yerselves  and  the  sick  man — and  half  a  bottle 


l6o  THE  STONE  CHEST. 

of  good  rum,  which  I  liope  I  may  have  my 
share  in. 

"  Faith,  there  Is  enough  to  make  us  as  merry 
and  comfortable  as  if  we  were  waking  the  dead 
man  below  there." 


CHAPTER    VI. 

THE   MADMAN. 

Taking  the  things  with  them,  they  hastily 
descended  the  companionway. 

It  was  not  without  a  shudder  that  they 
passed  the  many  bodies. 

As  they  were  preparing  supper  they  noticed 
the  sick  man  stirring. 

"Who  are  you?"  he  suddenly  muttered. 

"  We  are  Americans,  Hke  yourself,"  replied 
Bob.     "  Here,  have  something  to  eat?  " 

The  man's  eyes  glistened.  ' 

"  Give  it  me — quick !  "  he  exclaimed,  in  a 
hoarse  voice. 

Jack,  who  had  warmed  some  of  the  soup, 
brought  it  in  a  basin  he  had  found,  with  a 
spoon  and  a  piece  of  bread. 

Bob  took  it  from  him  and  fed  the  invalid 
slowly. 

x6i 


l62  THE   STONE  CHEST. 

"  More,"  cried  the  latter,  when  it  was  fin- 
ished. 

"  Not  yet,"  replied  our  hero.  "  Have  a 
doze,  and  you  shall  have  as  much  as  you  want 
next  time." 

Giving  him  a  glass  of  wine,  they  left  him, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  his  regular  breathing 
showed  that  he  slept  again. 

By  this  time  the  joint  of  seal  was  roasted, 
and  the  little  party  of  three  sat  down  together. 

"What  can  that  noise  come  from?"  ex- 
claimed our  hero,  as  he  stayed  his  fork  halfway 
to  his  mouth  to  listen. 

"  I  heard  it  once  or  twice  before,"  returned 
Jack,  "  but  thought  it  rats." 

"  Faith,  but  I  hope  there's  no  ghosts  here," 
cried  Bok.  "  Heaven  stand  between  us  and 
harm." 

"  Bah !  don't  be  foolish.  It's  rats,  sure 
enough." 

It  was  not  long  after  this  that  the  sick  man 
sat  up  to  partake  of  more  food. 

This  done,  he  told  his  story. 

He  said  he  belonged  to  the  whaler.  Cross  of 


The  madman.  163 

Gold,  which  had  been  caught  in  a  large  ice- 
pack. 

"  This  pack  we  attempted  to  cross,"  con- 
tinued the  sailor,  "  by  dragging  our  boats  over 
rollers  we  had  brought  with  us. 

"  On  the  third  day,  however,  a  snow-storm 
set  in,  and  continued  for  hours. 

"  Knowing  as  how  time  was  valuable,  after 
a  rest,  we  tried  to  make  our  way  through  the 
drifting  snow. 

"  But,  after  toiling  for  a  long  while,  we 
found  ourselves  back  where  we  started  from. 

"  The  captain,  I  and  one  or  two  others 
wanted  to  try  again,  but  the  rest  outvoted  us. 

"  We,  therefore,  tried  to  turn  the  pack  by 
coasting  along  it,  but,  although  we  ran  over 
a  hundred  miles  along  its  edge,  in  a  westerly 
direction,  never  a  lead  did  we  come  across 
which  offered  any  hopes  of  getting  through. 

"  At  length  we  came  to  the  end,  where  it 
was  joined  on  to  another  pack,  which  extended 
to  the  south. 

"  This  we  ran  along  till  wc  saw  high  land 
before  us. 


l64  THE  STONE  CHEST. 

"  But  all  the  shore  was  a  rampart  of  old 
ice,  so  that  it  was  next  to  impossible  to  ap- 
proach. 

"  However,  we  killed  quantities  of  seals 
and  saw  many  whales  floating  in  the  operl 
water. 

"  We  then  determined  to  make  once  more 
for  the  brig  and  start  anew,  taking  an  easterly- 
route. 

"  But  our  luck  was  out.  We  lost  many  days 
in  finding  these  islands,  and  when  we  did  get 
back  to  them,  hardly  had  we  got  on  board  than 
the  weather  broke  up. 

"  For  days  the  snow  was  driven  in  whirling 
clouds  all  around  us. 

"  The  decks  were  covered  feet  deep. 

"  It  was  impossible  to  get  out  in  search  of 
food^  and  we  were  almost  starved. 

"  At  length  the  weather  cleared  up,  and  we, 
with  difficulty,  forced  our  way  on  deck. 

**  The  whole  view  was  changed. 

"  A  sharp  frost  had  set  in,  and  bound  the 
snow-covered  country  with  iron  bands. 

"  Fresh  ice  had  formed  round  the  brig. 


THE   MADMAN.  165 

"  I  don't  want  to  tell  of  the  horrors  of  that 
winter. 

"  Some  of  us  were  mad,  I  guess." 

"  But  what  of  the  men  frozen  to  death  in 
the  cabin?  "  asked  Bob. 

"  Well,  sir,  we  had  built  this  kitchen,  and 
the  fireplace,  and  most  of  us  in  an  evening 
would  sit  here  and  smoke. 

'■  But  dinner  and  supper  was  mostly  taken 
in  the  cabin,  where  the  big  table  was. 

"  It  was  the  very  bitterest  of  weather. 

"  Food  at  last  there  was  none,  except  a  lump 
of  seal. 

"  It  had  been  so  awfully  cold  that  none  had 
dared  venture  out  hunting. 

"  It  was  my  day  for  being  cook,  and  as 
soon  as  the  joint  was  done  we  carried  it 
into  the  cabin,  which  was  warmed  with  a 
stove." 

"  Well,  go  on,  man,"  exclaimed  our  hero, 
for  the  sailor  had  suddenly  stopped  in  his  nar- 
rative, as  if  some  distant  sound  had  caught  his 
ear. 

"  Beg  pardon,  sir.     Well,  in  spite  of  the 


l66  THE   STONE  CHEST. 

Stove,  the  meat  was  no  sooner  cut  in  slices  than 
it  was  cold. 

"  I  took  mine  back  to  the  fire  and  re- 
warmed  it. 

"  There  was  still  a  good  supply  of  rum,  and 
I  took  a  swig  at  the  bottle,  and  then,  whether 
because  of  the  cold  or  the  rum,  I  don't  know, 
but  I  fell  sound  asleep  in  front  of  the 
blaze. 

"  I  woke  up  numbed  with  cold. 

"  The  fire  was  nearly  out,  and  the  first  thing 
I  did  was  to  make  it  up. 

"  Then,  after  heating  myself  a  drop  of  grog, 
I  fell  to  wondering  what  had  become  of  my 
comrades. 

"  I  stumbled  along  the  passage,  which  felt 
as  cold  as  the  grave,  and  there,  just  as  you  see 
them  now,  sat  our  cap'n  and  his  crew,  frozen 
to  death. 

"  The  fire  in  the  stove  was  out,  and  the  com- 
panion door  open. 

"  I  took  up  one  of  the  bodies,  after  I  had 
recovered  my  nerve  a  bit,  and  dragged  it 
along  the  passage  into  the  kitchen. 


THE  MADMAN.  167 

"  But  I  could  not  restore  it  to  life,  though 
I  tried  hard. 

"  So  you  see,   sir,  here  have  I  been 
Heaven  in  mercy!  what's  that?  " 

The  sick  sailor  had  risen  to  his  feet. 

Bob  and  Jack  had  done  the  same. 

Bok  crouched  near  the  fire,  with  a  horror- 
struck  look  in  his  eyes. 

"  It's  the  dead  walking,  maybe,"  he  gasped. 

A  muffled  thump,  thump,  thump !  was  again 
heard. 

A  minute  or  more  passed. 

Then  our  hero  again  seized  a  brand,  and 
made  a  rush  along  the  cabin  passage. 

Jack  followed,  and  after  him  Bok. 

A  glance  sufficed. 

The  body  from  the  head  of  the  table  had 
disappeared. 

"  What  can  it  mean  ?  "  exclaimed  Jack.  "  I 
don't  think  I  am  a  coward,  but  this  is  hor- 
rible." 

"  Something  In  that  sick  man's  face  tells  me 
he  has  not  spoken  all  the  truth.  We  must 
have  it  out  of  him,"  said  our  hero. 


1 68  THE   STONE  CHEST. 

But  at  that  moment  a  mournful  howl  came 
from  above. 

Rushing  to  where  their  arms  were  stacked, 
Bob  and  Jack  seized  each  a  rifle  and  made  their 
way  on  deck,  not  heeding,  in  their  excitement, 
a  cry  not  to  fire  from  Horton,  the  sick 
man. 

On  Hfting  their  eyes  aloft  they  beheld  a  sin-" 
gular-looking  object  gazing  at  them  over  the 
edge  of  the  foretop. 

It  appeared  to  be  some  huge  animal,  though 
of  what  kind  they  could  not  make  out. 

Scarcely  waiting  to  consider  what  they  were 
doing,  Bob  and  Jack  prepared  to  fire. 

A  wild  shriek  echoed  along  the  deck. 

"Stop   that   noise!"   cried   Bob,    glancing 
round  and  seeing  that  Horton  had  managed  ; 
to  ascend  the  companion  ladder. 

Bob  had  thrown  up  his  rifle  to  his  shoulder, 
when  the  weak  voice  of  the  sailor  arrested  him 
in  the  act  of  firing. 

"For  heaven's  sake,  sir,  don't  fire!  It's 
murder,  nothing  else." 

As  Horton  spoke,  the  object  of  his  solicitude, 


THE   MADMAN.  1^9 

with  incredible  speed,  slid  down  the  forestay 
and  disappeared  through  the  scuttle  of  the  fore- 
castle. 

"  Please,  sir,  listen  to  me." 
"All  right;  only  be  quick,  and  don't  talk 
such  nonsense  about  it's  being  murder." 

With  their  guns  in  their  hands,  and  taking 
good  care  to  shut  the  door  both  at  the  top  and 
bottom  of  the  companionway,  the  two  lads  fol- 
lowed Bok  and  Horton  through  the  dark  death- 
cabin  and  passage  to  the  kitchen,  lit  up  by  the 
cheerful  firelight. 

"  Now,  say  what  you  have  to,  and  be  quick 
about  if,"  cried  our  hero.  "  I  can't  rest  quiet 
when  a  huge  wild  animal  is  within  a  few  yards 
of  us,  though  how  it  got  there  I  can't  imagine, 
for  I  thought  there  were  no  such  things  in  the 
polar  regions." 

"  That  animal,  as  you  call  him,  is  Charlow, 
one  of  our  sailors.     He  has  gone  mad." 

No  more  was  just  then  seen  or  heard  of  the 
crazy  sailor,  and  the  party  retired  for  the  bal- 
ance of  the  night. 

When  the  captain  came  from  the  yacht  he 


170  THE   STONE  CHEST. 

brought  Mrs.  Cromwell  and  Viola  with  him, 
but  left  them  in  the  small  boat. 

Bob  quickly  repeated  Horton's  tale. 

"  We  must  capture  that  madman  and  bind 
him  with  ropes,"  said  Captain  Sumner. 

To  this  all,  including  Horton,  agreed. 

The  descent  to  where  the  madman  had  dis- 
appeared was  quickly  made,  but  he  could  not 
be  found. 

"  Hark!  "  cried  Bob  suddenly. 

A  wild  cry  of  alarm  arose  on  the  cold  air, 
coming  from  off  the  water. 

"  It's  my  mother  and  Miss  Viola  crying  for 
help!  "  Bob  went  on. 

"  We  must  get  to  them  at  once!  "  returned 
Captain  Sumner. 

The  party  were  quickly  on  the  snow,  run- 
ning toward  the  small  boat,  Bob  and  Jack 
leading. 

When  they  came  in  sight  of  the  craft  a 
scene  met  their  gaze  which  filled  them  with 
horror. 

The  madman  had  boarded  the  boat  and  was 
in  the  act  of  shoving  off. 


THE  MADMAN.  I7I 

Terror-stricken,  Mrs.  Cromwell  and  Viola 
shrank  back  on  the  stern  sheets. 

"Stop!  stop!"  yelled  Bob. 

With  a  snarl  the  madman  bent  to  his  work. 
Soon  the  boat  was  in  deep  water. 

In  desperation  Bob  leaped  into  the  water 
after  it. 

Ere  he  could  reach  the  craft  the  madman 
picked  up  the  long  ice  pole  and  aimed  a 
vicious  prod  with  it  at  our  hero's  breast. 

Bob  v;as  struck  squarely,  and  on  the  instant 
disappeared  beneath  the  surface  with  the 
shrill  laugh  of  the  crazy  sailor  ringing  in  his 
ears. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

A  FEARFUL  FALL. 

"  Where  am  I  ?     Where  are  mother  and 
Miss  Viola?" 

It    was    Bob    who    spoke.     Jack   Larmore 
stood  over  him  in  the  snow. 

"  You're  all  right — I  got  you  out  of  the     | 
water,'*'  Jack  made  answer. 

".-\nd  the  others?" 

"  Gone." 

"Gone!     In  the  power  of  that  madman?" 

"  Yes." 

Bob  gave  a  groan  and  leaped  up.     His  breast 
hurt  him  not  a  little. 

"  Where  is  Captain  Sumner?  " 

"  The  yacht  has  given  chase.     Look !  " 

Jack  pointed  up  the  coast.     The  yacht  was 
disappearing  around  a  distant  point. 

But  in  an  hour  the  vessel  returned.     The 

captain's  sad  face  told  his  story.     He  had  been 

17a 


A  FEARFUL  FALL.  173 

unable  to  catch  the  crazy  fugitive  and  rescue 
his  daughter  and  Mrs.  Cromwell. 

What  was  to  be  done  ?  Night  came  on  rap- 
idly, and  they  were  compelled  to  wait  until 
morning. 

At  early  dawn  Bob  and  Jack  commenced  to 
climb  a  near-by  hill  of  ice  to  look  for  the  small 
boat. 

It  was  perilous  work,  but  they  did  not  falter. 

At  length  they  reachedthe  level  summit  and 
glanced  down. 

The  yacht  looked  beautiful  as  she  lay  to, 
with  her  topsails  backed,  and  every  move- 
ment of  the  figures  on  deck  could  be  distinctly 
seen. 

Crossing  some  rough,  porous  ice,  they  came 
to  the  pinnacle. 

This  was  rougher  than  it  had  looked  from 
below,  and  they  found  not  much  difficulty  in 
mounting. 

Soon  they  reached  the  summit,  or,  rather, 
within  a  few  yards  of  it,  where  there  was  a 
tolerably  safe  and  level  spot. 

With  anxious  speed,  Bob  extended  the  tele- 


174  THE   STONE  CHEST. 

scope,  which  he  had  carried  slung  over  his 
shoulder. 

For  some  time  he  swept  the  ocean  in  vain, 
but  at  length,  far  to  the  westward,  just  on  the 
edge  of  the  horizon,  he  caught  sight  of  a  white 
speck,  which  could  be  nothing  but  a  sail. 

"  Look,  Jack,  and  tell  me  what  you  think !  " 
he  exclaimed. 

"I  can  see  it!"  cried  the  latter,  after  a 
lengthened  search.  "  I  agree  with  you — it 
must  be  a  boat-sail;  anyway,  it's  too  distant  to 
be  a  bird's  wing.     It  must  be  many  miles  off." 

"  Let's  make  haste  and  descend !  "  cried  our 
hero.  "  I\Iy  chest,  where  the  fellow  struck  me, 
is  getting  stiff  up  here  in  this  rare  air." 

Most  haste  less  speed. 

They  had  reached  within  twenty  feet  of  the 
level  portion  of  the  berg  when  our  hero  slipped. 

His  arm  could  not  bear  his  weight,  and  he 
half  fell,  half  slid  rapidly  to  the  bottom  of  the 
peak. 

"Are  you  much  hurt,  old  fellow?"  ex- 
claimed Jack,  as  soon  as  he  could  reach  his 
friend's  side. 


A  FEARFUL  FALL.  I75 

"  Only  bruised,  I  think.     Just  help  me  up/' 

"When  assisted  to  his  feet  it  was  evident  that 
Bob  had  t\visted  his  ankle,  or  slightly  strained 
it. 

"  Misfortunes  ne\'er  come  alone,"  he  said, 
with  a  laugh.  "  We  must  get  on.  If  I  find 
the  descent  difficult,  you  must  help  me." 

A  stream  of  water  from  the  melting  of  the 
ice  on  the  peak  ran  along  in  a  little  channel  it 
had  worn,  to  v;here  it  came  to  the  ravine. 

Here  it  fell  over  in  a  cascade,  and  divided, 
one  part,  now  joined  by  other  trickling  streams, 
descended  the  gorge  into  the  sea,  the  other 
flowing  into  the  mouth  of  an  ice  cavern. 

The  friends  had  crossed  about  half  the  sum- 
mit of  the  berg  when  a  sudden  gust  of  wind, 
forming  an  eddy,  blew  up  a  cloud  of  ice  dust. 

These  tiny  particles  stung  like  needle  points 
when  carried  by  the  breeze  against  the  faces  of 
the  two  boys. 

They  had  to  stand  still  and  cover  their  eyes 
with  their  hands. 

When  the  dust  subsided  they  again  hurried 
forward. 


1/6  THE  STONE  CHEST. 

At  the  edge  of  the  ravine  a  fiercer  gust  than 
the  first  hurled  up  milHons  of  icy  particles. 

They  glittered  like  a  cloud  of  diamond  dust 
in  the  sun's  rays. 

Wishing  to  escape,  both  the  lads  droppet^ 
on  to  the  lower  ledge. 

"  It's  worse  here  than  ever,"  exclaimed  Bob, 
holding  his  rifle  in  one  hand  and  placing  the 
other  so  as  partly  to  protect  his  face.  "  Let's 
get  into  yonder  cave." 

They  both  ran  toward  it —  that  is.  Jack  ran, 
and  Bob  hobbled  after. 

The  former  had  only  just  time  to  see  thati 
the  floor  of  the  cavern  sank  at  a  sharp  angle, 
when  he  felt  his  feet  fly  from  under  him. 

Our  hero,  arriving  at  the  cave's  mouth  at 
the  instant  of  his  friend's  fall,  was  horror- 
struck  to  see  him  slide  on  his  side  toward  the 
edge  of  a  dark  abyss,  over  which  the  water 
trickled. 

"  Help,  Bob!  "  cried  Jack,  in  vain  trying  to 
regain  his  feet. 

Our  hero  clearly  saw  the  fearful  danger  of 
his  comrade's  position. 


A  FEARFUL  FALL.  1/7 

Jack's  feet  were  already  over  the  edge. 
"  I  am  gone !     Help !  "  he  gasped. 
Then,  with  a  stifled  cry,  he  disappeared  over 
the  verge  of  the  abyss. 


CHAPTER  VIIT. 

A   REMARKABLE   STORY. 

"Jack!  Jack!"  shouted  Bob. 

A  sound  as  of  falling  rocks  or  ice  blocks 
reached  his  ears,  but  no  answering  voice. 

The  echoes  of  the  falling  masses  died  away. 

Bob  was  filled  with  dismay  at  the  dreadful 
ending  of  his  chum. 

He  had  reached  his  gun  to  him,  but  Lar- 
more  had  been  unable  to  grasp  it. 

He  shuddered  as  he  thought  of  Jack's  fee^ 
ings   as   he   felt   himself  shooting  over   the 
precipice. 

There  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  return. 

He  found,  lame  as  he  was,  the  path  extremely 
difficult. 

But  at  length  he  reached  the  yacht  and  told 
his  story. 

"  It's  dreadful"  said  Captain  Sumner, 
"  First  my  daughter  and  your  mother,  and  nov/ 
your  friend,  a  young  gentleman  we  all  liked, 


178 


I. 


A   REMARKABLE   STORY.  I'/g 

and  I,  for  one,  looked  on  as  a  comrade,  for  we 
fought  side  by  side  against  that  rascally  crew 
of  ours." 

The  captain  was  quite  affected. 

When  the  Dart  was  once  more  going 
through  the  water  in  the  direction  in  which 
Bob  had  seen  what  he  took  for  a  boat  sail,  he 
came  to  the  side  of  our  hero,  who  stood  leaning 
on  the  after-bulwarks,  gazing  at  the  berg, 
whose  southern  point  they  were  now  passing. 

"  He  was  a  fine  young  fellow ! "  he  ex- 
claimed, "and  would  have  made  a  good 
officer. 

"  But  what  are  you  looking  at?  " 

"  A  seal,  sir,"  said  Bob.  "  Don't  you  see  it, 
lying  in  the  shade  of  that  block  of  ice,  on  the 
ledge,  lapped  by  the  swell  ?  " 

"  Seals  don't  lie  in  the  shade — they  bask  in 
the  sun.     Give  me  the  glass,  Bob." 

But  our  hero  was  already  drawing  it  out  to 
his  focus. 

No  sooner  did  he  get  it  pointed  correctly 
than  he  uttered  a  cry  of  surprise. 

"  That's  his  body  1 "  he  exclaimed.    "  At  all 


l80  THE   STONE   CHEST. 

events,  a  man's  body.  How  on  earth  did  it 
come  there?  " 

A  small  boat  was  still  towing  astern. 

Bob,  forgetful  of  his  sprain,  lowered  him- 
self into  her,  and  grasped  the  oars,  while  the 
captain  followed. 

"  Hold  hard !  "  shouted  the  mate. 

Our  hero  impatiently,  though  he  never  for 
a  moment  expected  to  find  his  friend  alive, 
complied. 

In  two  minutes  Leeks  reappeared  and  let 
down  a  flask  into  the  boat. 

Our  hero  dashed  the  oars  into  the  water, 
and  the  small  boat  moved  faster  over  the  heav- 
ing face  of  the  ocean  than  she  had  ever  done 
before. 

"  Don't  deceive  yourself.  If  it  is  your 
friend,  he  can't  be  alive,"  said  the  captain,  as 
they  approached  the  body  of  the  ledge. 

"  It  is  Jack !  "  he  added,  a  couple  of  minutes 
later.  *'  But  how  on  earth  did  he  come 
there?" 

Another  score  of  vigorous  strokes  brought 
the  little  boat  alongside  the  berg. 


A   REMARKABLE   bTORY,  l8l 

Hardly  waiting  to  fasten  the  painter,  they 
rushed  to  the  body. 

It  was  lying  on  its  back,  and  as  Bob  bent 
over  it  he  noticed  a  faint  tinge  of  color  on  the 
cheek. 

"  He's  only  stunned,  I  believe,  after  all," 
cried  our  hero. 

The  captain  unscrewed  the  top  of  the  flask 
and  poured  a  mouthful  of  wine  between  the 
teeth  of  the  senseless  lad. 

In  a  minute  it  took  effect 

Jack  sighed  and  opened  his  eyes. 

"  Let's  get  him  on  board  the  yacht  at  once," 
exclaimed  the  captain. 

First,  however,  he  passed  his  hand  along 
each  limb,  and  then  felt  Jack's  ribs. 

The  patient  winced  at  the  last  experiment 
and  uttered  a  low  cry. 

"  Legs  and  arms  all  right,"  muttered  the 
captain,  as  he  with  our  hero's  help  carried  the 
boy  to  the  small  boat;  "  so,  if  a  rib's  broken, 
he  must  consider  himself  well  out  of  a  bad 
scrape." 

Bob  again  pulled  his  hardest,   and  when 


l82  THE   STONE   CHEST. 

alongside  the  yacht  his  comrade  with  some 
difficulty  was  got  on  board. 

It  was  not  until  late  that  evening  that  Jack 
was  able  to  tell  of  his  wonderful  escape. 

"  I  don't  know  much  about  it,"  he  said,  "  but 
never  shall  I  forget  the  awful  feeling  as  I  shot 
over  the  edge  of  the  precipice. 

"  Of  course  I  thought  that  I  should  fall  down 
a  well  that  penetrated  right  through  the  berg 
into  the  sea. 

"  However,  instead  of  that,  I  did  not  fall 
a  great  distance  before  I  came  down  feet  first 
among  a  lot  of  pieces  of  loose  ice,  or,  if  not 
loose,  they  gave  way  with  me,  and  together  we 
went  clattering  down  a  second  slope. 

"  All  of  a  sudden  I  was  pulled  up  by  my 
rifle,  which  was  slung  round  my  shoulders,  get- 
ting jammed  across  the  passage. 

"  I  tried  to  gain  my  feet,  but  failed;  the 
slope  was  too  smooth  and  steep. 

"  There  was  but  one  thing  for  it,  and  that 
was  to  go  on. 

"  I  slipped  the  sling  over  my  head,  and  away 
I  went  again. 


A  REMARKABLE   STORY.  I83 

"Then  came  another  fall. 

"  This  nearly  knocked  me  senseless. 

"  I  just  remember  another  slide,  then  day- 
light, then  a  last  fall,  and  I  lost  all  conscious- 
ness, only  coming  to  myself  to  find  you  leaning 


over  me." 


"  How  is  your  side  ?  "  asked  the  captain. 
"  Your  escape  was  most  wonderful.  Another 
foot  farther,  and  you  would  have  been 
drowned." 

"  It  was,  as  you  say,  a  narrow  escape.  As 
for  my  side,  I  must  say  it's  rather  painful." 

However,  on  the  captain  pressing  it,  he  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  no  ribs  were  broken. 

It  was  bandaged  up,  and  Jack  was  able  to 
walk  about,  thankful  that  things  were  not 
worse. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

THE   VOLCANO   OF   ICE. 

For  three  long  days  the  Dart  bore  away 
northwest,  the  direction  in  which  the  last  had 
been  seen  of  the  missing  boat. 

"  Luckily  it's  the  right  course  to  steer  for 
the  Siberian  coast,"  remarked  the  captain,  as 
he  sat  over  his  wine  after  midday  dinner. 
"  We  shall  sight  the  high  land  to-morrow 
morning,  if  not  before." 

"  Surely  we  shall  come  across  the  boat  in 
time,  captain  ?  "  remarked  Bob. 

"  Well,  we  have  had  wonderfully  fine 
weather,"  replied  the  captain.  "  But,  after  all, 
she  was  but  a  cutter,  handled  by  a  lunatic." 

And  he  and  Bob  interchanged  looks  of 
despair  as  they  ascended  the  companion  ladder. 

"  Bok,  go  to  the  foremast-head,"  ordered 
the  captain.  "  Take  the  glass,  and  have  a  look 
around." 

sS4 


THE  VOLCANO  OF  ICE.  l8$ 

The    sailor    slung   the   telescope   over   his 
shoulder  and  nimbly  mounted  the  rigging. 

When  he  arrived  at  the  topgallant-yard  he 
passed  his  arm  round  the  skypole,  and,  adjust- 
ing the  glass,  swept  the  line  of  the  horizon. 
There  was  a  long  pause. 
"Deck  ahoy!" 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  bellowed  the  captain. 
"  Sure,   there   is   a   mist,    or    smoke   right 
ahead,  and  above  it  I  see  what  looks  like  the 
top  of  a  mountain,"  replied  the  Irishman. 
"Nothing  else?" 
"  There  is  a  low,  flat  berg." 
"Nothing    more?     No    sign    of    a    boat- 
sail?" 

"  Nothing  the  size  of  a  pocket  handkerchief, 
yer  honor." 

"  Well,  we  must  give  up  the  search  for  the 
present  and  start  for  the  Siberian  shore.  But 
I  give  you  my  word,  Bob,  I  shall  not  give  up, 
this  hunt  for  many  a  week." 

The  wind  fell  light,  and  the  Dart  did  not 
make  more  than  three  knots  an  hour  during 
that  afternoon. 


l86  THE   STONE   CHEST. 

The  strange  misty  appearance  still  hung  over 
the  water. 

They  were  gradually  approaching  it,  and  it 
was  not  more  than  a  couple  of  miles  ahead, 
when,  as  the  sun  set,  the  captain  and  the  two 
boys  went  to  supper,  leaving  Leeks  in  charge 
of  the  deck. 

They  had  just  finished  their  meal  when  the 
latter  shouted  down  the  companion  for  them 
to  come  up. 

An  extraordinary  scene  met  their  gaze  when 
they  reached  the  deck. 

The  yacht  was  still  in  moderately  smooth 
water,  but  a  quarter  of  a  mile  before  her  the 
sea  was  covered  with  a  thick  mist,  while  it  was 
tossed  hither  and  thither  in  tumbling  waves, 
which  met  and  crossed  one  another  in  wild 
confusion. 

As  they  looked  a  thick  body  of  smoke  was 
belched  from  the  midst  of  the  turmoil. 

"  Port !  hard  aport !  "  shouted  the  captain. 
"Round  with  the  yards!  Flatten  in  the  jib! 
Be  smart,  there !  " 

Rushing  forward,  followed  by  Bok  and  Jack, 


THE   VOLCANO   OF  ICE.  187 

the  captain  himself  seized  the  rope  and  aided 
the  sailors  to  execute  his  orders,  while  Leeks 
attended  to  the  jib. 
Bok  was  at  the  wheel. 

When  on  the  new  tack  the  Dart  was  not  a 
cable's  length  from  the  boiling  water. 

"  It's  a  subterranean  eruption !  "  exclaimed 
the  captain.     "Look — look  yonder!" 

Where  he  pointed,  from  the  midst  of  the 
curling  waves,  a  great  black  patch  of  what 
seemed  to  be  mud  rose  above  the  surface. 

Round  it  were  thick  columns  of  smoke, 
which  instantly  shut  it  out  from  view. 

The  wind  chopped  round,  and  a  fierce  gust 
came,  laden  with  steam  and  smoke,  from  the 
north. 

The  yacht  heeled  over  till  her  copper  sheet- 
ing gleamed  above  the  water-line. 

Gasping  for  breath,  for  a  fearful  stench  ac- 
companied the  smoke,  which  enveloped  them, 
all  on  board  could  do  nothing  but  hold  on  to 
whatever  was  handiest. 

A  rushing,  roaring  sound  filled  their  ears 
as   the   Dart   dashed  onward,    throwing   the 


1 88  THE   STONE  CHEST. 

boiling  water  in  showers  of  spray  over 
her  bows. 

The  men  forward  were  forced  to  stagger 
aft. 

It  looked  as  if  the  Dart  was  doomed  I 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE   ESCAPE   OF   THE   "  DART." 

For  fully  ten  minutes  no  one  could  tell 
whether  the  yacht  would  right  herself  or  not. 

Captain  Sumner,  aided  by  our  hero  and  Jack, 
at  length  found  the  topgallant  halyards,  and 
lowered  the  sail  in  the  peak. 

We  say  found,  for  the  darkness  was  intense. 

Then  the  gallant  little  vessel,  as  if  freed  from 
an  overpowering  load,  came  up  to  her  bracings. 

Once  more  she  flew  with  increased  speed 
through  the  water. 

A  few  seconds  and  the  star-lit  sky  again 
appeared  overhead,  and  the  rolling  smoke 
wreaths  were  left  behind. 

"Heavens!"  cried  the  captain;  "never  in 
all  my  life  have  I  seen  the  like.  What  a  death 
to  have  escaped !  " 

As  if  exhausted  with  its  own  fury,  the  squall 
subsided  as  suddenly  as  it  had  sprung  up. 

Ii9 


190  THE   STONE   CHEST. 

The  smoke  gradually  blew  away. 

And  there,  over  the  starboard  quarter,  some 
two  miles  distant,  lay  a  long,  low,  black  island. 

"  Look!  look!  "  yelled  Bob  suddenly. 

All  eyes  followed  his  outstretched  hand. 

There  on  the  shore  rested  a  familiar-looking 
boat,  containing  three  figures — Mrs.  Cromwell, 
Viola,  and  the  madman. 

Mrs.  Cromwell  and  Viola  were  waving  their 
hands.  Then,  assured  they  were  seen,  both 
fell  back  unconscious. 

As  for  the  mad  sailor,  he  never  stirred.  He 
was  dead. 

It  did  not  take  the  captain  and  Bob  long  to 
reach  the  women  folks.  They  were  taken  on 
board  the  Dart,  and,  after  Bob  had  kissed  his 
mother  and  the  captain  had  hugged  his 
daughter,  and  both  were  given  food,  they  told 
their  story. 

"  When  the  madman  struck  Bob  I  nearly 
fainted,"  said  Mrs.  Cromwell.  "  When  I  came 
to  he  had  hoisted  the  sail,  and  we  were  leaving 
the  shore.  The  crazy  fellow  was  eating  some 
ship  biscuit,  which  lay  in  a  basket. 


THE  ESCAPE  OF  THE   "  DART.  I9I 

"  When  the  madman  had  appeased  his  hun- 
ger he  looked  at  us  for  some  minutes  without 
speaking. 

"  We  were  dreadfully  frightened,  but  he 
never  once  came  aft  to  annoy  us. 

"  He  placed  some  tinned  meat  and  water 
near  us,  and  then  sat  by  the  mast,  singing 
loudly  and  rocking  himself  backward  and  for- 
ward. 

"Viola  and  myself  slept  in  turn;  but  the 
madjiian  sat  in  the  bow,  looking  out  ahead, 
hour  after  hour. 

"  When  the  wind  rose  and  the  waves  broke 
into  the  cutter  he  reefed  the  sail,  and  managed 
her  wonderfully  well. 

"  Still  he  never  spoke. 

"  A  shower  fell,  and  Viola  and  myself  col- 
lected the  water  and  had  a  good  drink. 

"  Another  time  snow  fell. 

"  This  also  we  collected  and  put  into  the 
barrel. 

"  Time  after  time  a  fresh  can  of  meat  was 
placed  out  for  us. 

"  But  we  ate  very  sparingly. 


192  THE   STONE  CHEST. 

"  I  think  at  this  period  the  man's  senses  were 
returning  to  him,  for  soon  after  he  spoke. 

"  He  told  us  he  did  not  know  where  we 
were,  but  trusted  it  was  off  the  coast  of  Siberia, 
and  that  we  had  every  chance  of  being 
picked  up. 

"  He  said  that  his  name  was  Charlow,  and 
that  he  had  been  mate  of  a  brig  that  had  been 
wrecked,  but  he  had  gone  mad  through  misery, 
loneHness,  and  want. 

"  We  had  just  sighted  the  coast,  when 
first  the  smoke  from  your  vessel  came  into 
view. 

"  Charlow  was  very  weak,  but  he  altered 
the  direction  the  boat  was  going,  and  told  us 
how  to  steer  toward  you. 

"  Presently  the  yacht  came  in  sight,  and  we 
tried  to  get  him  to  put  us  on  board;  but  he 
was  too  weak,  and  just  before  Bob  saw  us  he 
breathed  his  last." 

Such  was  Mrs.  Cromwell's  narrative,  and 
Viola  corroborated  it. 

A  happy  day  was  spent  on  board  of  the 
Dart. 


THE   ESCAPE   OF  THE  "  DART.  I93 

"  I  trust  we  are  never  separated  again,"  said 
Bob  to  his  mother. 

"  So  do  I,  Bob,"  she  returned  fondly.  Then 
she  gave  a  sigh.  "  I  wonder  when  we  will 
reach  Cedar  Island.  I  see  nothing  like  cedar 
trees  around  here." 

"  The  map  has  but  one  cedar  on  it,"  he  re- 
turned. "  It  must  have  floated  up  here  in  the 
water  and  taken  root  in  the  ice.  Even  Cap- 
tain Sumner  can't  understand  that  part  of  it." 

On  the  following  day  the  Dart  again  set  sail 
for  the  coast  of  Siberia. 

They  were  well  into  the  sea  of  Kamtchatka, 
and  felt  that  they  must  soon  strike  the  spot 
mentioned  in  Ruel  Gross'  memorandums,  if  the 
old  sailor  had  taken  his  observations  correctly. 

"  If  only  we  were  sure  father  was  alive ! " 
Bob  murmured  more  than  once. 

Three  days  passed,  and  Bob  was  one  morn- 
ing in  the  foretop  when  suddenly  he  gave  a 
wild  shout. 

"Land  ahoy!" 

"Where  away?"  asked  Captain  Sumner 
quickly. 


194  THE  STONE  CHEST. 

For  from  the  deck  nothing  but  icebergs  wertf 
to  be  seen. 

"  To  the  northwest,  sir.  Will  you  let  me 
have  the  glass?  " 

The  glass  was  quickly  brought  and  adjusted. 
The  captain  gave  one  glance. 

"Ah!     Bob,  look!" 

The  boy  did  so,  and  then  gave  a  shout  that 
brought  everyone  on  board  on  deck. 

"Cedar  Island!" 


CHAPTER  XL 

AMONG   A   STRANGE   FOE. 

It  was  true. 

Far  off  to  the  northwest  they  could  see  the 
shore  of  a  land  that  was  covered  with  ice  and 
snow. 

The  snow  was  of  a  reddish  color,  and  the 
ice  a  deep  blue. 

But  this  was  not  all,  nor  by  far  the  strangest 
part  of  the  picture. 

On  the  top  of  a  hill,  amid  the  snow,  there 
stood  a  large  cedar  tree. 

Its  heavy  branches  swayed  in  the  breeze 
mournfully;  for  though  standing  as  if 
planted,  the  tree  was  dead. 

For  several  minutes  those  on  the  Dart 
viewed  the  scene. 

Then  Bob  broke  the  spell. 

"Do  you  know  what  I  think?"  he  said. 

195 


•* 


196  THE   SIOKE   CHEST. 

"  I  think  that  dead  cedar  was  stuck  up  on  the 
hill  for  a  guide." 

"  Perhaps  you  are  right,"  returned  Captain 
Sumner.  "  One  thing  is  certain — we  have 
reached  Cedar  Island,  as  Gross  called  it. 
Prohably  the  ground  has  a  Russian  name  a 
yard  long." 

"  Let  us  waste  no  time  in  getting  ashore," 
cried  Bob.  "  My  father  may  be  waiting  for 
us!^^ 

At  this  the  captain  said  nothing,  not  wish- 
ing to  hurt  the  boy's  feelings.  But  the  Dart 
continued  on  her  course,  and  soon  they  dropped 
anchor  in  deep  water  but  a  few  rods  from  the 
edge  of  the  land. 

Bob  was  the  first  to  enter  the  small  boat. 
He  was  followed  by  the  captain  and  Jack  and 
two  sailors. 

The  shore  of  the  land  reached,  they  gazed 
around  curiously. 

"  Looks  deserted,"  said  Bob,  in  a  disap- 
pointed tone  of  voice.  '"  But  come  on  up  to 
the  cedar.  We  may  be  able  to  discover  some- 
thing from  the  top  of  the  hill." 


AMONG  A  STRANGE  FOE.  197 

The  ascent  was  quickly  made  by  Bob,  but 
scarcely  was  the  top  gained  than  a  shout  was 
heard  from  below. 

"Savages!" 

Bob  was  right.  The  sight  that  met  his  eyes 
startled  him  as  he  had  never  been  startled 
before. 

Rushing  forward,  they  perceived  the  yacht 
surrounded  by  a  half-score  of  canoes. 

Two  others  were  drawn  up  on  the  beach, 
and  half  a  dozen  or  more  copper-colored  sav- 
ages were  standing  round  the  dingy. 

*'We  must  save  our  boat  at  any  cost!"  cried 
Captain  Sumner. 

As  they  dashed  down  the  hill  the  savages 
turned,  armed  with  clubs,  to  face  them. 

One  was  bending  a  bow,  but  a  shot  from 
Bob's  gun  broke  his  arm. 

Jack  also  fired,  and  the  aborigines,  all  save 
one,  took  to  flight,  jumping  into  one  of  the 
canoes. 

This  brave  chief,  for  such  he  looked,  wield- 
ing a  heavy  club  with  both  hands,  rushed  at 
our  hero. 


iqS  the  stone  chest. 

Bob  threw  up  his  gun  to  parry  the  blow. 

The  weapon  was  struck  from  his  hand,  but 
the  blow  fell  harmless. 

Before  the  tall  savage  could  regain  his  bal- 
ance Bob  bounded  on  him,  -clasping  him  round 
the  body. 

But  if  our  hero  was  strong,  the  native  was 
stronger. 

Dropping  his  club,  he  seized  his  adversary's 
throat,  and,  forcing  back  his  head,  made  him 
relinquish  his  hold. 

Then,  seizing  him  round  the  v/aist,  he  flung 
him  at  the  captain,  whom  he  upset,  at  the  same 
instant  springing  into  the  sea  and  swimming 
after  his  companions. 

The  whole  affair  did  not  last  a  minute. 

Jack,  who  had  reloaded,  fired  upon  the  over- 
crowded canoe. 

Two  paddles  fell  into  the  water  and  drifted 
away. 

No  sooner  did  they  clamber  on  board  than 
they  were  saluted  with  a  score  of  spears,  which 
stuck  in  the  masts  and  deck,  one  passing 
through  the  fleshy  part  of  a  sailor's  arm. 


AMONG  A  STRANGE  FOE.  199 

"  Here,  man,  go  below  and  bathe  it  in 
brandy,"  cried  the  captain.  "  Drink  some, 
too.  The  rest  of  you  get  under  shelter  of  the 
bulwarks. 

"  I  have  heard  that  these  fellows  poison  their 
spears  and  arrowheads,"  he  continued  to  our 
hero. 

"  Will  they  come  back,  do  you  think  ?  "  ques- 
tioned Bob. 

"  Perhaps — we  must  remain  on  guard." 

The  next  few  hours  were  very  anxious  ones 
©n  board  of  the  Dart. 


CHAPTER   XII. 
bob's  discovery. 

Night  came,  and  the  hostile  natives  showed 
no  sign  of  returning. 

A  strict  watch  was  kept  until  morning,  but 
nothing  out  of  the  ordinary  happened. 

In  the  meantime  Captain  Sumner  and  Bob 
examined  the  map  with  great  care  and  also 
read  and  reread  the  papers  Ruel  Gross  had  left 
behind  him. 

"  Let  us  go  on  another  tour  of  exploration," 
said  the  captain,  on  the  following  day.  "  If 
those  natives  come  back  Bok  can  fire  a  gun 
to  warn  us." 

The  boy  readily  agreed  and  they  set  off  with- 
delay. 

Once  under  the  dead  cedar  tree  they  looked 
around  them  curiously. 

A  short  distance  further  inland  they  saw; 


bob's  discovery.  20I 

a  hollow,  which  had  evidently  at  one  time 
been  a  camp. 

Tin  cans  were  strewn  around,  along  with 
a  number  of  fish  and  animal  bones. 

"  I  wonder  if  father  and  Ruel  Gross  once 
encamped  here  ?  "  thought  Bob. 

Hardly  had  the  idea  occurred  to  him  than 
Captain  Sumner  set  up  a  shout. 

He  was  pointing  to  a  post  set  up  in  the  ice. 

To  the  top  of  the  post  was  attached  a  rude 
sign,  which  read: 

"  To  the  Svlachkys'  Camp— One  Mile." 

"  Hurrah !  here's  a  discovery !  "  cried  Bob. 
"Shall  we  go  on?" 

"  Yes;  but  let  us  advance  with  extreme  cau- 
tion. These  Svlachkys  may  be  very  bad 
people." 

"  Undoubtedly  there  are,  or  they  wouldn't 
keep  my  father  a  prisoner,"  rejoined  Bob. 

"  That  signpost  must  be  the  work  of  Ruel 
Gross,"  went  on  the  captain.  "  The  savages 
haven't  dared  to  touch  it,  thinking  there  was 
something  supernatural  attached  to  it — some- 
thing to  injure  them." 


202  THE   STONE  CHEST. 

On  went  the  captain  and  Bob,  down  one  hill 
of  ice  and  up  another.  It  was  extremely  cold, 
but  neither  minded  that. 

At  last  they  reached  a  portion  of  the  island 
that  was  very  uneven.  Great  chasms  yawned 
to  the  right  and  left  of  them.  It  was  with 
difficulty  that  they  pushed  forward. 

But  they  were  bound  to  go  on,  and  go  they 
did,  until  at  the  mouth  of  what  looked  like  a 
cave  of  ice  the  captain  called  a  halt. 

"  Listen !  "  he  whispered.     "  I  hear  voices." 

Bob  listened.  Captain  Sumner  was  right. 
From  the  cavern  came  the  sounds  of  several 
human  tongues. 

"  They  are  not  speaking  Russian,"  said  the 
captain.  "  Perhaps  we  have  stumbled  upon 
more  savages." 

Hardly  had  he  spoken  when  three  human 
beings  came  into  view. 

They  were  bundled  up  in  furs,  in  strong 
contrast  to  the  other  natives,  who  had  scarcely 
any  body-covering. 

The  new-comers  were  jabbering  among 
themselves  at  a  great  rate. 


BOB  S  DISCOVERY.  203 

Presently  they  came  to  a  halt  before  a  large 
slab  of  ice. 

They  tugged  and  pounded  on  this  until  the 
slab  fell  to  one  side,  revealing  a  strange-looking 
opening-. 

"  What  are  they  up  to  now  ?  "  whispered 
Bob. 

"  I  don't  know — wait." 

They  waited.  Presently  the  three  men  dis- 
appeared within  the  opening.  Soon  a  smoke 
came  out,  and  they  saw  that  firebrands  had 
been  lit  to  light  up  the  scene. 

"  That  may  be  the  place  where  the  stone 
chest  is  kept,"  said  Bob.     ■ 

"  More  likely  it  is  a  burial  place,"  replied 
Captain  Sumner.  "  I've  seen  such  spots  be- 
fore.    Maybe  they're  preparing  for  a  funeral." 

"  Can't  we  get  a  little  closer  to  them?  " 

"  It  would  not  be  safe.     Hark !  " 

From  a  distance  they  heard  the  mournful 
toot  of  a  large  horn. 

"  That's  a  funeral  horn,  I'm  sure,"  said  the 
captain.  "If  they  are  coming  this  way  we 
had  better-.  ■. —  Hullo !  look !  " 


204  THE   STONE  CHEST. 

The  captain  pointed  to  an  opening  to  their 
left. 

A  band  of  men  were  advancing. 

They  were  guarding  a  prisoner — a  white 
man,  who  walked  in  their  midst. 

Bob  gave  the  white  man  one  swift  look,  and 
then  shrieked  out  at  the  top  of  his  voice: 

"  It's  my  father !  " 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE   BIG   POLAR   BEAR. 

"  Your  father !  "  cried  Captain  Sumner. 

"  Yes,  my  father,"  repeated  Bob,  in  high  ex- 
citement.    "What  shall  we  do?" 
P        He  felt  like  rushing  forward,  but  the  captain 
restrained  him. 

"  We  can  do  nothing  against  such  a  force 

of    men/'    he    said.     "Wait—or "     He 

hesitated. 

"What?" 

"  You  or  I  might  go  bacic  to  the  'Dart  for 

1^  help.     Every  man  on  board  can  come  heavily 

armed.     When  these  people  see  our  number 

they  may  be  willing  to  talk  reasonably  to  us." 

"  That's  so,  but  I  hate  to  leave,"  returned 
Bob.  "  They  may  do  some  harm  to  my  father 
in  the  meantime." 

"  Then  I  will  go,  Bob.  But  mind,  keep 
shady,  unless  they  do  something  very  bad." 

SOS 


206  THE   STONE   CHEST. 

Bob  promised,  and  williout  delay  Captain 
Sumner  started  on  the  return  to  the  Dart. 

With  a  wildly  beating  heart  Bob  watched 
the  people  who  held  his  father  a  captive. 

They  were  marching  along  silently  now  and 
did  not  stop  until  the  center  of  the  cave  of  ice 
was  reached. 

Here  the  party  assembled  in  a  circle  at  a 
point  Vk'here  there  was  a  slight  elevation. 

Two  of  the  men  had  axes,  and  with  these 
they  began  to  chop  at  the  elevation,  causing  the 
pieces  of  ice  to  fly  in  all  directions. 

"  Now  what  are  they  going  to  do?  "  thought 
our  hero. 

Presently  he  heard  a  slight  noise  behind  him. 
Somewhat  startled,  he  turned  around  to  find 
himself  face  to  face  with  a  monstrous  polar 
bear! 

The  beast  had  just  discovered  Bob.  For  a 
moment  he  stood  still. 

Then  with  a  growl  he  leaped  directly  for  the 
astonished  youth. 

Had  Bob  not  sprung  out  of  the  way  the  bear 
would  have  landed  on  his  head. 


THE  BIG  POLAR  BEAR.  207 

But  Bob  moved  with  the  quickness  of  light- 
ning, and  this  saved  his  Hfe. 

The  bear,  however,  came  down  so  close  to 
the  boy's  side  that  our  hero  had  no  time  left  to 
fire  at  him. 

He  struck  the  bear  one  hasty  blow  with  his 
gun  stock  and  then  ran  for  dear  life. 

Recovering,  the  huge  beast  came  after  him. 

Although  a  heav)rvveight,  the  bear  managed 
to  cover  the  ground  with  incredible  swift- 
ness. 

Down  the  side  of  the  icy  hill  went  Bob,  with 
the  bear  less  than  a  dozen  feet  in  the  rear. 

The  plain  below  reached,  Bob  scarcely  knew 
which  way  to  turn. 

The  bear  uttered  growl  after  growl,  show- 
ing that  he  was  working  himself  up  to  a  per- 
fect fury. 

"I  must  get  to  the  yacht,  if  possible," 
thought  Bob,  and  headed  in  the  direction  with- 
out delay. 

On  and  on  came  the  polar  bear. 

He  did  not  seem  to  gain,  neither  did  he  lose. 

So  far  the  race  had  been  about  even,  but 


208  THE   STONE  CHEST. 

Bob  felt  he  could  not  keep  up  that  terrific  strain 
much  longer. 

As  he  ran  he  fingered  his  gun  nervously. 

Should  he  risk  a  shot? 

"  I  must  do  something,"  he  said  to  himself 
desperately. 

And  wheeling  about  he  took  hasty  aim  and 
blazed  away. 

The  shot  was  not  a  bad  one.  The  bullet 
struck  the  polar  bear  in  the  side  of  the  head, 
causing  him  to  stagger  back  and  halt. 

On  went  Bob  again,  and  by  the  time  the  bear 
recovered  sufficiently  to  continue  the  pursuit 
he  was  nearly  fifty  yards  in  advance. 

But  the  bear  was  undaunted,  and  on  he  came 
as  swiftly  as  before. 

Once  Bob  stumbled  and  almost  gave  him- 
self up  for  lost. 

But  he  scrambled  up  quickly,  and  was  re- 
lieved to  see  the  bear  stop,  not  being  able  to 
make  out  what  was  about  to  happen. 

Then  on  went  both  again,  until,  with  a  cry 
of  terror,  Bob  leaped  back. 

He  had  reached  the  edge  of  a  swiftly  flow- 


THE  BIG  POLAR  BEAR.  209 

ing  Stream,  which  ran  between  smooth  banks 

of  ice. 

To  attempt  to  leap  that  body  of  water  would 
be  highly  dangerous,  and  to  enter  it  might  cost 

him  his  life. 

And  now  the  polar  bear  was  at  his  very 

heels. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE    FINDING   OF    THE   STCNE    CHEST, 

"Help!  help!" 

Why  he  uttered  the  cry  Bob  could  scarcely 
tell. 

He  did  not  imagine  that  any  human  beings 
were  within  sound  of  his  voice. 

Yet  it  is  natural  for  a  person  in  mortal  peril 
to  cry  for  assistance. 

Luckily  his  cries  were  heard. 

Captain  Sumner  was  returning  from  the 
Dart,  having  hastily  summoned  Bok,  Leeks, 
and  the  others. 

Glancing  in  the  direction,  he  saw  the  polar 
bear  and  then  Bob. 

He  did  not  stop  to  think,  but,  taking  hasty 
aim,  fired. 

Bok  also  discharged  his  weapon,  and,  hit 
twice  in  the  neck,  the  beast  staggered  back. 

Bob  now  saw  his  friends,  and,  running  up 
the  stream,  joined  them. 

3I« 


THE  FINDING   OF  THE   STONE  CHEST.      211 

With  SO  many  against  him  the  bear  tried  to 
flee,  but  a  second  bullet  from  the  captain's  gun 
finished  him. 

"  Oh,  how  thankful  I  am  that  you  have 
come,"  cried  Bob  gratefully.  "  I  thought  I 
was  a  goner." 

"  Don't  waste  time  here,"  exclaimed  Cap- 
tain Sumner.  "  These  shots  will  alarm  those 
people  we  left  at  the  ice  cave." 

"  That  is  true,"  said  Bob.  "  Come  on — we 
must  rescue  my  father!  " 

And  he  led  the  way,  with  the  captain  at  his 
side. 

It  was  a  rough  journey  up  the  side  of  the 
hill  again,  and  more  than  once  they  had  to 
stop  to  catch  their  breath. 

At  the  top  a  surprise  awaited  them. 

The  band  of  strange  people  had  disappeared ! 

At  first  Bob  could  scarcely  believe  his  eyes. 

"Where  are  they?" 

"Gone!" 

"  But  to  where  ?  I  can't  see  them  any- 
where." 

Captain  Sumner  shook  his  head. 


212  THE   STONE   CHEST. 

A  telescupe  was  brought  into  play,  but  it  did 
no  good. 

Captors  and  captive  had  alike  gone,  no  one 
could  tell  where. 

A  consultation  was  held,  and  it  was  decided 
to  explore  the  cave  before  going  back  to  the 
Dart. 

The  descent  into  the  cold  spot  was  not  easy, 
and  more  than  once  a  member  of  the  party  was 
m  danger  of  breaking  a  leg. 

The  bottom  reached  they  made  their  way 
to  the  place  where  the  men  had  been  at  work 
with  their  axes. 

They  had  cut  out  a  square  hole  two  by  three 
feet  and  six  feet  deep. 

Gazing  down  into  the  bottom  of  the  hole, 
Bob  gave  a  shout : 

"  The  stone  chest,  as  sure  as  I  live !  " 

"  What !  "  cried  the  captain. 

He  too  looked  into  the  opening. 

There  rested  what  at  first  looked  to  be  a 
square  stone  of  a  whitish-blue  color. 

But  a  closer  examination  proved  that  it  was 
really  a  stone  chest,  having  two  immense  hinges 
of  iron. 


THE   FINDING   OF   THE   STONE   CHEST.       213 

How  had  the  object  come  there? 

"  I  believe  those  people  were  going  to  dig 
it  out  when  our  firing  frightened  them  off," 
said  Captain  Sumner. 

"  Let  us  see  what  the  chest  contains,"  re- 
"lurned  Bob,  in  high  curiosity. 

The  others  were  willing,  and  by  the  united 
efforts  of  the  sailors  the  top  of  the  chest  was 
pried  back. 

A  murmur  of  astonishment  went  up. 

The  chest  contained  three  iron  pots,  one  filled 
with  silver  and  the  others  filled  with  gold! 

"The  treasure,  sure  enough!"  ejaculated 
jjack,  who  had  come  along  with  the  sailors. 

"  There  are  thousands  of  dollars  there ! " 
said  Captain  Sumner. 

"  We  ought  to  take  the  stuff  on  board  of  the 
Dart"  put  in  Bok.  " 'Taint  no  use  to  leave 
it  out  here." 

The  others  agreed  with  him. 

In  the  chest  were  two  fur-covered  sacks,  and 
these  the  party  used,  filling  them  up  to  the 
top. 

In  the  midst  of  the  work  a  far-away  shot  was 


214  THE  STONE  CHEST. 

heard.  Two  more  followed  in  quick  succes- 
sion. 

"  Tis  an  alarm  from  the  yacht,"  cried  the 
captain.  "  I  told  my  daughter  and  Mrs.  Crom- 
well to  fire  in  case  anything  turned  up." 

Without  delay  the  sailors  were  sent  off  in 
advance. 

Captain  Sumner,  Bob,  and  Jack  started  to 
follow  with  the  treasure  sacks,  wlien  a  shout 
went  up  and  a  band  of  the  hostile  savages  ap- 
peared at  the  far  end  of  the  ice  cave. 

"  We  must  run  for  it !  "  yelled  Bob.  "  Come 
on — for  the  ship!  " 

"Give  them  a  volley  first!"  shouted  the 
captain. 

Six  shots,  poured  into  the  advancing  troop, 
threw  them  into  confusion. 

As  the  treasure-seekers  turned  to  run  a  spear 
glanced  over  our  hero's  shoulder  and  stuck 
quivering  in  the  ground  a  dozen  yards  "beyond. 

At  the  top  of  their  speed  they  rushed  toward 
the  shore. 

At  first  they  fancied  they  were  not  pursued. 

After  going  a  hundred  yards,  however,  a 


THE  FINDING   OF  THE   STONE   CHEST.       21$ 

wild  yell  and  the  patter  of  feet  told  them  they 
would  have  to  do  their  best. 

Encumbered  as  they  were,  with  both  the 
lads  partly  disabled  and  the  captain  no  speedy 
runner,  the  savages  soon  gained  on  them. 

"We  must  give  them  another  volley!" 
panted  the  paptain. 

Though  the  guns  chosen  were  breech- 
loaders, it  took  some  little  time  to  reload  them 
whilst  at  a  run. 

Suddenly  Bob  felt  a  shock,  which  nearly 
made  him  fall. 

However^  he  recovered  himself  with  a 
stagger. 

"The  sack  saved  you,"  gasped  Captain 
Sumner.  "  But  for  that  the  spear  would  have 
pierced  your  back.  Now  wheel  round  and 
fire ! " 

As  they  fronted  the  natives  they  found  that 
not  thirty  yards  divided  them. 

At  that  short  range  every  bullet  told. 

Three  men  fell  dead,  a«d  as  many  were 
wounded. 

The  captain  gave  them  a  couple  of  shots 


2l6  THE   SIONE   CHEST. 

trom  his  revolver  before  he  once  more  turned 
and  ran  for  his  Ufe. 

"  That  accounts  for  about  half  of  them,"  ex- 
claimed our  hero. 

As  they  gained  the  head  of  the  beach  Jack 
stopped  short. 

"Go  on!"  he  gasped.  "My  side!  I  am 
struck !  " 

Bob  put  his  arm  through  that  of  his  friend, 
who  had  dropped  his  gun,  and  dragged  him 
onward. 

The  captain  turned  and  fired  the  remaining 
chambers  of  his  revolver  among  the  crowd, 
now  within  a  score  of  yards. 

The  small  boat  was  in  waiting,  and  into  it 
they  tumbled,  amid  a  storm  of  spears. 

Both  the  captain  and  Bok,  who  rowed,  were 
struck. 

Our  hero  seized  the  oars  from  the  hands  of 
the  latter  and  pulled  with  all  his  strength  for 
the  yacht. 

The  gunwale  of  the  little  boat  was  almost 
level  with  the  water. 

It  was  slow  work. 


THE  FINDING  OF  THE  STONE  CHEST.      217 

Luckily,  nearly  all  the  enemies'  spears  were 
iexhausted. 

An  arrow  pierced  Bob's  cap,  and  the.  last 
spear  which  was  thrown  again  wounded  the 
captain,  piercing  his  leg. 

Fortunately  the  distance  was  so  far  that  it 
only  entered  about  an  inch  and  fell  out  from 
its  own  weight. 

Our  hero  and  the  captain  clambered  on 
board  the  schooner. 

Jack  was  exhausted,  but  still  clung  to  his  bag 
of  silver. 

Scarcely  had  they  gained  the  deck  when  a 
yell  broke  from  the  dark  waters  around  them, 
and  spears  and  arrows  fell  on  all  sides. 

Every  gun  on  board  was  now  fired  at  the 
savages. 

Yet  they  came  on  as  if  determined  to  kill 
every  white  person  in  sight. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

BOB  RESCUES   HIS  FATHER — CONCLUSION. 

The  savages  were  pressing  close  upon  th« 
Dart.     Something  must  be  done. 

"Slip  the  cable!"  shouted  the  captain. 
"Up  with  the  jib,  topgallant  sails,  and  gaff! 

"  We  must  trust  to  weathering  the  point," 
he  added  to  the  mate.  "  If  we  do,  we  are  safe. 
The  current  will  carry  us  to  sea." 

His  orders  were  executed. 

The  wind  fortunately  blew  from  the  south- 
ward, and,  filling  the  light  sails,  carried  the 
Dart  off  the  shore. 

The  yacht's  head  paid  off,  and,  answering 
her  helm,  she,  with  the  tide  in  her  favor,  bore 
seaward. 

A  few  parting  shots,  and  the  Dart,  now  feel- 
ing the  full  force  of  the  wind,  left  the  fleet  of 
canoes  far  behind. 

The  next  few  hours  were  employed  in  the 

•a 


BOB   RESCUES   HIS   FATHER.  2I9 

dressing  of  wounds  and  making  things  a  little 
ship-shape. 

It  had  been  a  hard-fought  fight,  and  every- 
one was  tired  out. 

Fortunately,  neither  Mrs.  Cromwell  nor 
Viola  had  suffered  from  the  attack. 

Long  before  the  crew  were  able  to  do  any- 
thing more  darkness  set  in. 

Bob  was  very  impatient  to  trace  up  his 
father,  but  just  now  that  was  impossible. 

Anxiously  the  boy  waited  for  dawn,  while 
his  mother  wept  in  silence,  thinking  of  her  be- 
loved husband. 

Would  they  save  him? 

At  the  first  signs  of  morning  Bob  was  up 
and  ready  for  the  search. 

Captain  Sumner  and  Jack  were  not  far  be- 
hind. 

The  Dart  proceeded  slowly  toward  land. 

Satisfied  that  the  savages  had  left  the 
vicinity,  the  party  went  ashore,  and  once  more 
proceeded  toward  the  cave  of  ice. 

A  light  snow  had  fallen,  and  all  former 
tracks  had  been  obliterated. 


220  THE   STONE   CHEST. 

In  vain  they  looked  about  for  some  trace  of 
the  Svlachkys. 

"  Let  us  go  on  an  exploring  tour,"  suggested 
the  captain,  seeing  how  badly  Bob  felt. 

They  started  off  first  for  the  far  end  of  the 
cavern. 

They  had  gone  scarcely  a  dozen  rods  when 
the  captain  called  a  halt. 

"  Someone  is  coming!  "  he  whispered. 

A  crunching  of  snow  and  ice  was  now  plainly 
to  be  heard. 

The  party  ran  for  shelter  behind  a  series  of 
ice  humps  and  waited. 

Suddenly  a  man  clad  in  furs  dashed  by  them, 
running  at  top  speed. 

"Father!" 

At  that  strange  cry  the  man  stopped  as 
though  shot. 

''  Who  calls?  "  he  asked,  but  instead  of  re- 
plying, Bob  rushed  from  his  hiding  place. 

"My  son!  What  does  this  mean?  How 
came  you  here?  " 

"  We  came  in  search  of  you,  father,"  replied 
Bob. 


BOB  RESCUES   HIS  FATHER.  221 

Father  and  son  embraced  warmly.  Then 
Captain  Cromwell  turned  swiftly. 

"  We  must  fly !  The  Svlachkys  are  com- 
ing!    I  just  escaped  from  them." 

He  had  just  uttered  the  words  when  the 
crowd  of  strange  people  came  down  upon 
them. 

The  leader  started  to  throw  a  sharp  spear  at 
Captain  Cromwell,  when  Bob  rushed  in  and, 
with  one  well-directed  blow  of  his  gun,  laid 
the  man  on  his  back. 

A  fierce  shout  went  up  and  a  struggle 
ensued. 

But  the  fall  of  their  leader  had  demoralied 
the  Svlachkys,  and  when  half  a  dozen  guns 
and  pistols  had  been  fired  at  them  they  fled  in 
dismay. 

After  this  the  party  from  the  Dart  lost  no 
time  in  returning  to  the  vessel. 

Bob  and  his  father  walked  side  by  side,  and 
never  were  parent  and  child  happier. 

When  Mrs.  Cromwell  saw  her  husband  alive 
and  well,  she  cried  for  joy  and  threw  herself 
into  his  arms.     It  was  a  happy  time  all  around. 


222  THE   STONE  CHEST. 

Captain  Cromwell's  story  was  a  long  one. 
In  brief,  it  was  as  follows : 

When  the  Bluebell  went  down,  he  and  Ruel 
Gross  escaped  on  a  raft,  and  after  several  days 
of  suffering,  reached  the  coast  of  Siberia. 

From  there  they  set  out  for  Cedar  Island. 

The  island  gained,  they  found  the  stone 
chest,  and  then  Captain  Cromwell  was  cap- 
tured. 

For  a  long  while  the  Svlachkys  held  him, 
thinking  he  knew  of  more  treasures  than  those 
already  discovered. 

At  last,  however,  they  grew  weary  of  wait- 
ing, and  had  resolved  to  put  him  to  death, 
when  deliverance  came  as  recorded. 

That  there  was  more  treasures  was  proven 
later  on. 

The  stone  chest  was  taken  up,  and  beneath 
was  found  a  cross  of  gold  that  was  valued  at 
fifteen  thousand  dollars. 

With  the  treasure  on  board,  the  Dart  started 
southeastward  for  the  United  States. 

In  due  course  of  time  San  Francisco  was 
reached,  and  here  the  treasure  was  disposed  of, 

UInTVERSITY  of  CATJFO?vNIA 


BOB.RESCUES  HIS- FATHER.  223 

Each  of  the  sailors  belonging  to  the  party- 
was  given  five  hundred  dollars,  besides  his  pay. 

Jack  received  five  hundred  dollars  also. 

The  remainder  of  the  money  was  divided 
equally  between  Captain  Sumner  and  Captain 
Cromwell. 

With  his  portion  of  the  treasure  Captain 
Cromwell  purchased  an  interest  in  another 
ship,  and  to-day  is  fast  regaining  his  lost 
financial  position. 

Bob  is  with  his  father  and  Jack  Larmore 
sticks  to  the  pair. 

Captain  Surhner  has  given  up  his  roving 
life  and  has  settled  down  with  Viola  as  his 
housekeeper.  His  residence  is  but  a  short  dis- 
tance from  that  occupied  by  Mrs.  Cromwell,  so 
the  latter  does  not  want  for  company  vv^hen  her 
husband  and  son  are  on  the  ocean. 

And  here  let  us  leave,  satisfied  that  in  the 
future  all  will  be  well  with  those  who  hav« 
figured  in  the  story  of  The  Stone  Chest. 


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